Department for Transport

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Antoinette Sandbach: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who the members of the HS2 community and stakeholder engagement panel are.

Paul Maynard: The HS2 Community and Stakeholder Engagement Panel is chaired by the CEO of HS2 Ltd and includes the following members of HS2 Ltd staff: Director of Community EngagementDirector of Corporate AffairsManaging Director Phase 1Managing Director Phase 2Managing Director Railway OperationsStrategic Communications AdvisorDirector of EnvironmentDirector of Land and PropertyCorporate Sponsorship DirectorGeneral Counsel The Chief of Staff, Head of Consultation and Engagement (Phase 2b) and Governance Manager attend as non-members. The independent HS2 Residents’ Commissioner and Construction Commissioner attend as required.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Antoinette Sandbach: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what opportunities hon. Members with constituencies on the route of HS2 will have to feed into the review of compensation schemes that is currently being carried out by his Department.

Paul Maynard: The Government keeps the suite of HS2 property compensation schemes under review. Now that the schemes have been extended to the three phases of the project, it is important we continue to learn how they operate in practice and impact on affected residents and businesses. I can confirm that I will write to all line of route MPs by the end of November to outline the scope of the review, inviting them to set out any issues they consider should be taken into account as part of the review.

Birmingham-Bristol Railway Line: Overcrowding

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to discuss the level of overcrowding on the Bristol to Birmingham railway line with First Great Western as a result of recent representations by passenger organisations.

Paul Maynard: Services between Bristol and Birmingham are operated by the Cross Country franchise, not by First Great Western. My officials meet with senior directors and managers at the Cross Country franchise at least once every four weeks to discuss franchise performance in general. These discussions do include the results of monitoring the franchise to ensure that Cross Country uses the maximum amount of trains that is currently possible to meet the demand for services. In addition to this, my Department is at the early stages of the procurement competition for the replacement franchise and we have been engaging with a wide range of stakeholders including passenger groups to see what improvement could be delivered in the next franchise.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Antoinette Sandbach: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how often the HS2 community and stakeholder engagement panel meets and when it will hold its next meeting.

Paul Maynard: The HS2 Community and Stakeholder Engagement Panel meets monthly. The panel met on Monday 20 November and the next meeting is due to be held on Monday 11 December 2017.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Antoinette Sandbach: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the fees payable under the land access arrangements for phase two of HS2 are the same as the fees paid under land access agreements for phase one of HS2.

Paul Maynard: For Phase One and Phase Two of the HS2 project, the standard offer for signing a land access agreement for non-intrusive surveys is £1,000, split between owner and tenants. Before legislative powers were granted to the Secretary of State for Phase One, access to land was dependent on negotiation with some access fees exceeding the standard offer. Recognising that obtaining the consent of landowners is still the primary approach to securing land access, HS2 Ltd consulted with professional organisations who represented farmers and rural businesses along the Phase 2b route and it was agreed that maintaining the £1,000 access fee was reasonable. HS2 Ltd, like other acquiring authorities, has the ability to seek authorisation for entry to land for survey purposes without consent and payment of access fees, though this is not the preferred approach.

Transport for the North: Staff

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many of his Department's staff are working on issues related to Transport for the North; and at which locations such staff are based.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport has worked closely with local authorities and others in the development and delivery of transport policy in the North for many years, for example through rail and road investment planning. This includes in relation to HS2, local transport funding arrangements, rail franchising, devolution deals and provision of local public transport services.To supplement this and support the Northern Powerhouse, in June 2015 the Department for Transport created the Regional Transport Strategies Directorate. This team has developed the legislation to allow Transport for the North to become a statutory body, and is responsible for funding Transport for the North and working with them to coordinate future investments. An example of the latter was the Chancellor’s announcement in October of £300m for provision for junctions to ensure that HS2 infrastructure can accommodate future Northern Powerhouse Rail services.Within the Department there are officials focusing directly on Transport for the North and the Northern Powerhouse, officials with relevant expertise who take part in specific road, rail or other investment projects, and officials who are deployed as needed on an ad hoc basis. It is therefore not possible to provide a precise overall number. These staff are based in London and in Manchester.

Railways: Leigh

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Transport for the North on plans to connect Leigh with the Northern Powerhouse Rail project.

Paul Maynard: The vision for Northern Powerhouse Rail is being developed in line with the 2015 Northern Transport Strategy developed jointly by the Government and Transport for the North. The Department has regular discussions with Transport for the North on Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) and we look forward to receiving their proposals next year. We understand that Transport for the North favours using HS2 as a core part of the NPR between Manchester and Liverpool, thus integrating HS2 and NPR and maximising use of the HS2 investment. Based on the HS2 route, that would preclude NPR services being routed via Leigh. However, as part of the development of HS2, Leigh’s closest station, Wigan North Western, will be served by HS2 trains following completion of HS2 Phase One in 2026, and by 2033 will be served by HS2 trains from London, Birmingham, Preston and Scotland. This will benefit Leigh residents. In addition the Government has provided Greater Manchester Combined Authority with £2.5m to develop HS2 Growth Strategies, which include plans for improving connectivity across Greater Manchester to the planned HS2 stations. Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Transport for Greater Manchester are advancing their wider plans for connectivity across the city region through their Greater Manchester 2040 Transport Strategy.

Railways: North of England

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will devolve management of the Northern Powerhouse Rail project to Transport for the North.

Paul Maynard: The Government has set up Transport for the North and is providing it with funding to develop Northern Powerhouse Rail proposals which improve journeys for transport users and provide good value for taxpayers’ money. I am expecting to receive costed proposals with relevant business cases from TfN soon. The expectation is that any major proposals would be dependent on central Government funding. Therefore the Government must retain an approval role, ensuring that proposals are affordable and represent good value for taxpayers’ money. It is in all of our interests that the Government and the North work collaboratively to improve transport in the region and we have an expectation that TfN will continue to work with the Department in developing its options.

Offshore Industry: Helicopters

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the helicopter industry regarding (a) operational safety and (b) passenger confidence in the use of helicopters for transport in the offshore oil and gas sector.

Mr John Hayes: The safety of those who travel on offshore helicopter flights is a key priority. That's why in 2014 the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) published a comprehensive review of offshore helicopter flying, resulting in significant changes in safety that were welcomed by everyone involved. The Department for Transport and the CAA will continue to work with the helicopter operators, the offshore industries, international regulators, unions and pilot representatives to enhance offshore safety standards still further.

Offshore Industry: Helicopters

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what change has occurred in the passenger risk profile of each helicopter model licensed for commercial operation in the offshore oil and gas sector since January 2009.

Mr John Hayes: In terms of assessing risk for the purposes of insurance underwriting on each helicopter model licensed for commercial operation in the offshore oil and gas sector since January 2009, neither the Department for Transport nor the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) holds this information as any assessment of the passenger risk profile is a matter for the insurance industry rather than the Government. Nevertheless the safety of those who rely on offshore helicopter flights is an absolute priority and the CAA continues to work with helicopter operators, offshore industries, international regulators, unions and pilot representatives to enhance offshore safety standards.

A75: Scotland

Mr Alister Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Scottish Government about regeneration of the A75 euro-route from Gretna to Stranraer.

Jesse Norman: Road investment in Scotland is a devolved matter and as such any plans to regenerate the A75 euro-route fall to the Scottish Government. Where there are areas of cross border interest, such as in the case of the A1 north of Newcastle, UK ministers are keen to collaborate with their Scottish counterparts.

A75: Scotland

Mr Alister Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to upgrade the A75 euro-route from Gretna to Stranraer.

Jesse Norman: Road investment in Scotland is a devolved power and as such any plans to upgrade the A75 fall to the Scottish Government.

Bus Services: Franchises

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he will publish the guidance and regulations relating to the franchise for the Bus Services Act 2017.

Jesse Norman: The Department’s aim is to have the relevant regulations and guidance in place later this year.

Railways: North of England

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 November 2017 to Question 112096, on Railways: North of England, what assessment has been undertaken on the cases where serving locations on the planned Northern Powerhouse Rail between cities may enhance the business case, and therefore be beneficial.

Paul Maynard: In addition to the cities outlined in the March 2015 document “The Northern Powerhouse: One Agenda, One Economy, One North”, Transport for the North are considering whether other significant economic centres between these cities could be served by Northern Powerhouse Rail and enhance the business case. This includes assessing the economic benefits and costs of serving Warrington, Huddersfield, Bradford, York, Darlington and Durham. These areas are being considered on the basis that they form significant markets in their own right and are geographically located on likely corridors that future NPR routes could take. These considerations will form part of the business case for NPR which Transport for the North are preparing for the end of 2018.

Railways: South West

Mr Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the merits of the request from the Peninsula Rail Task Force for funding of £600,000 for the Speed to the West study; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Maynard: The request from the Peninsula Rail Task Force for additional funding of £600,000 for the “Speed to the West” project represents the first stage in developing a new enhancement scheme to supplement a planned renewal within the current Control Period (CP5). It is estimated to cost an additional £20-30m to deliver, which is currently unfunded. The enhancement project would raise line speeds from 60 to 75mph for 14 miles between Plymouth and Totnes. This would generate estimated time savings of up to 3 mins 8 secs towards London and up to 2 mins 24 secs towards Penzance.

British Transport Police: Scotland

Andrew Bowie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on safety for passengers travelling from (a) Scotland to England and (b) England to Scotland of the Scottish Government's plans to integrate the British Transport Police in Scotland into Police Scotland.

Andrew Bowie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment  his Department has made of the implications for safety in on cross-border trains of the Scottish Government's plans to integrate the British Transport Police in Scotland into Police Scotland.

Andrew Bowie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment  his Department has made of the effect of the Scottish Government's plans to integrate the British Transport Police in Scotland into Police Scotland on the delivery of policing on cross-border trains.

Paul Maynard: We are working closely with the Scottish Government, the two police forces and police authorities, through a Joint Programme Board, to ensure that effective arrangements are in place for cross-border railway policing once responsibilities have been transferred, so that we continue to have a railway policing service which protects the safety of passengers.

Roads: Shrewsbury

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations his Department has received from Shropshire Council on the timing of receipt of its business case for the North West Relief Road; what process his Department plans to apply to assess that business case; what the timetable is from its receipt for a decision on that business case; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: Shropshire Council has informed the Department that it intends to submit the business case for the Shrewsbury North West Relief Road by 22 December. The Department will assess the strategic, economic, financial, management and commercial aspects of the business case as defined in the Department’s published Transport Business Case guidance. This will be done alongside the assessment of business cases for other schemes that the Department receives at the same time. The process is competitive and the Department aims to announce a decision on which schemes will be funded by summer 2018.

British Transport Police: Scotland

Andrew Bowie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Scottish Government's plans to integrate the British Transport Police in Scotland into Police Scotland on the delivery of British Transport Police Services in the North of England.

Paul Maynard: Together with the Scottish Government, we are working closely with the two police forces and police authorities, through a Joint Programme Board, to ensure that the overall level of policing remains seamless and fully effective both sides of the border, including in the North of England.

Rescue Services: North Yorkshire

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there are adequate levels of coastguard patrols and provision for (a) Redcar and (b) North Yorkshire.

Mr John Hayes: Coastguard patrols in Redcar, North Yorkshire and the rest of the UK are undertaken by volunteer Coastguard Rescue Officers. These patrols support the delivery of search, mud, cliff, and water rescue by enabling the volunteers to enhance their local geographical knowledge. Each volunteer undertakes a minimum of eight hours patrolling a year and are encouraged to take as many voluntary patrols as they believe are necessary to meet these operational requirements.

Tees Valley Railway Line: Guide Dogs

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that railway stations on the Tees Valley Line are accessible to passengers with assistant dogs.

Paul Maynard: The National Rail Conditions of Travel permit the carriage of assistance dogs. Whilst it is not essential, it is recommended that advance notification of travel is provided to ensure that any required assistance is in place at stations. Northern and Transpennine franchise agreements contain a number of relevant obligations such as Minor Works budget expenditure, to make improvements such as new handrails, level access and tactile surfaces. Other obligations include a map covering station accessibility and the installation of ‘Harrington Humps’ to support making stations more accessible in general.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects the High Speed 2 environmental impact study to (a) begin, (b) conclude and (c) be published.

Paul Maynard: Environmental assessment work on Phase 2b of HS2 (which includes the part of the route going through the Hemsworth constituency) is already underway. A working draft of the Environmental Statement (ES) will be published for consultation in 2018 and the ES itself will be published when the Phase 2b hybrid Bill is deposited.

Department for Transport: Social Media

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an estimate of its advertising spending across social media platforms in the UK in each of the last five years.

Mr John Hayes: The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Transport: Social Media

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people in his Department with responsibility for social media are employed on a (a) full and (b) part-time basis.

Mr John Hayes: There are a range of people across the organisation involved with managing social media channels alongside other responsibilities but as such, the proportion of time spent on managing social media differs across these roles and teams so it is not possible to provide exact numbers. There are no people employed in the Department (including the Executive Agencies) on a full or part-time basis that are solely responsible for social media content or management.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Department for Communities and Local Government: Pay

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many (a) press officers, (b) internal communications officers, (c) external communications officers, (d) communications strategy staff and (e) other communications staff his Department employed in (i) 2016-17 and (ii) 2015-16; and what the total cost of salaries and on-costs was during those periods.

Mr Marcus Jones: The structure of the Communications function has changed substantially and the number of staff it employs has reduced considerably since 2009/10, when it cost £3.4 million which equates to approximately £3.8 million in today’s prices.In 2015/16, the number of communications staff in the positions specified and total salaries (including oncosts) were as follows: Press Officers – 23Internal Communications – 5External communications – NACommunications strategy – NAOther – 23Some Press Officers and Other staff are categorised as external communicationsTotal Salaries – £2,509,060 In 2016/17, the numbers and total cost were: Press Officers – 25Internal Communications – 5External communications – 16Communications strategy – NAOther – NATotal Salaries – £1,991,542

Enterprise Zones

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2017 to Question 111426, on job creation: enterprise zones, what representations he has received from representatives of business organisations about the effectiveness of enterprise zones.

Jake Berry: I am not aware of any written representations from business organisations to my Department specifically about job creation and the effectiveness of Enterprise Zones.Businesses generally tell us that Enterprise Zones have been and remain helpful for companies seeking to grow their business and employ more staff. Enterprise Zones have been successful in attracting jobs, businesses and private investment. As of September last year. Local Enterprise Partnerships reported that over 35,000 jobs, 822 businesses and £3.3 billion in investment had been attracted to Zones since 2012.

Fracking: Planning Permission

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 2 November 2017 to Question 109056, on fracking: planning permission, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to make planning decisions the responsibility of the National Planning Regime.

Alok Sharma: I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on to Question UIN 111182 on 15 November 2017.

Department for Communities and Local Government: EU Grants and Loans

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with HM Treasury on funding for existing EU structural and investment projects; and if all such projects meet the criteria of providing strong value for money and are in line with domestic strategic priorities.

Mr Marcus Jones: My Department is in regular contact with HM Treasury regarding funding for EU Structural and Investment Funds. All European Regional Development Fund projects signed to date deliver value for money and are in line with domestic strategic priorities. These will be guaranteed by the Government after the UK leaves the EU.

Council Tax: Students

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that part-time students receive reductions in council tax proportionate to their studies.

Mr Marcus Jones: We have given local authorities the powers to design local council tax support schemes to assist taxpayers on low incomes, including support for part-time students.

Private Rented Housing: Homelessness

Mr Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has carried out an assessment of the effectiveness of Help to Rent projects in helping homeless people access housing in the private rental market.

Mr Marcus Jones: Help to rent projects play an important role in enabling homeless people to access the private rented sector. We are considering how best to take forward mediated access in the context of our overall homelessness prevention approach.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he has plans to test cladding materials used on tower blocks other than aluminium composite material.

Alok Sharma: Given the particular concerns around aluminium composite material cladding, the initial priority was testing those cladding systems. With the large-scale tests now complete and advice on the results published, the Expert Panel is considering whether there may be any heightened risks linked to other issues, such as other cladding systems and broader safety issues.

Fracking: Planning Permission

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he has any plans to change planning policy or guidance in relation to applications for permission to engage in fracking activities.

Alok Sharma: I refer the Hon Member to the answers I gave to the Hon Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston to Question UIN 109056 on 2 November 2017 and to Question UIN 111182 on 15 November 2017.

Alcoholic Drinks: Prices

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Government has made an assessment of the effect on pubs of cheap supermarket alcohol.

Jake Berry: My Department has made no such assessment. As Minister with policy responsibility for Community Pubs I am determined to work with organisations such as the Pub is The Hub and other key business partners in the sector to ensure that community pubs across the country continue to thrive.I would advise the Rt Hon Member to contact the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy for further information.

*No heading*

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government,  whether his Department has consulted those people in receipt of EU structural funds on a replacement for that scheme once the UK has left the EU.

Jake Berry: We have committed to creating the United Kingdom Shared Prosperity Fund as the successor to European Structural Funds following the UK’s departure from the EU. We intend to consult widely on the design of the fund as part of the process of its establishment.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Housing: Construction

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in what ways the Government and HM Land Registry (a) monitor and (b) prevent land banking in local communities.

Margot James: HM Land Registry is responsible for maintaining the register of land and property in England and Wales. As set out in the Housing White Paper, HM Land Registry is working with the Department for Communities and Local Government to improve the availability and quality of data on land ownership and interests, which will allow local communities to better understand how land is being used. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 20 November 2017 by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to Question UIN 112668.

Tidal Lagoons Independent Review

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2017 to Question 110379, on Tidal Lagoons Independent Review, if he will (a) set out the costs that make up that approximate figure and (b) place the evidential basis for those costs in the Library.

Richard Harrington: The costs referred to in the response to the Answer of 3 November 2017 to Question 110379 on Tidal Lagoons was a contract between the Hendry Review and ITPE Ltd (now known as ITPEnergised) for the provision of expert consultancy advice to support the work of the Review. The value of the contract was £117,729.60

Nuclear Power

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to introduce small modular reactors to the UK.

Richard Harrington: The Government recognises the potential long-term value of small modular reactor (SMR) technology and in October announced £7m funding over the next 2 years to build capacity of the UK nuclear regulators to support and assess advanced nuclear technologies like SMRs. We expect to make further announcements of SMR policy in the coming months.

European GNSS Agency

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the UK plans to seek formal participation with the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency after the UK has left the EU.

Joseph Johnson: The Government has made clear that we would welcome an agreement to continue to collaborate with our European partners on major science, research and technology initiatives, including with the EU on the Galileo and EGNOS satellite navigation programmes as part of this.

Nuclear Power: Skilled Workers

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2017 to Question 109395, what steps the Nuclear Sills Strategy Group is taking to make it easier to attract qualified and experienced people from other sectors into the nuclear industry.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2017 to Question 109395, what steps the Nuclear Sills Strategy Group is taking to remove barriers to entry into the nuclear industry.

Richard Harrington: The Nuclear Skills Strategy Group (NSSG) published its strategic plan on 1 December 2016 and a key theme identified focuses on “Meeting the Demand” to ensure the sector has access to the skills it needs. One of the strategic actions is to simplify the entry process by reviewing perceived barriers to entry to the sector, including security clearance processes, assumptions around the time to achieve competence and the requirement for intensive induction training before joining. This work is being led by the National Skills Academy for Nuclear (NSAN), on behalf of the NSSG, and builds on NSAN’s existing expertise, such as their Triple Bar suite which aims to streamline the process to work on a nuclear site. The NSSG envisage that simplifying the process of entering the nuclear industry will make it more attractive for qualified and experienced people from other sectors.

Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how resources from the new Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund will be allocated across the country to challenge regional economic inequality.

Claire Perry: The Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) will support the Industrial Strategy by enabling world-class R&D delivered in collaboration between researchers and business in key sectors across the economy to meet the major industrial and societal challenges of our time.We have already launched the first wave of ISCF Challenges and will announce the next Wave of Challenges shortly. Projects are undertaken in different parts of the UK. They are independently assessed by UKRI and experts based on the quality and competitiveness of their innovation. More generally, addressing local and regional economic disparities will be a key theme of the Industrial Strategy White Paper.

EU Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government plans to seek formal participation with the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises after the UK leaves the EU.

Margot James: As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister set out in her Florence speech, we want to continue working together with the EU to promote the long-term economic development of our continent. We seek a deep and special partnership with the EU for the benefit of citizens and business in both the UK and EU. However, the exact future relationship is subject to negotiations with our EU partners.

Space Industry Bill (HL)

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment the Government has made of the opportunities presented by the provisions included in the Space Industry Bill [Lords] for (a) specialist manufacturing and (b) other businesses in the UK.

Joseph Johnson: The UK Space Agency publishes regular assessments of the size and health of the UK space sector. In 2014/15 it was worth at least £13.7 billion and has grown at an average 8% per year over the last decade - three times faster than the average non-finance sector over the last five years. Global small satellite launch and servicing could exceed £25bn in revenues over 20 years.The Government is committed to grow the UK’s share of the global space market to 10% by 2030. As part of this, the Space Industry Bill will lay the foundation for a new commercial market for small satellite launch and sub-orbital spaceflight in the UK. Manufacturing, engineering and other businesses around the country stand to benefit from new value chains for launch vehicles and components, spaceport infrastructure, and related services in the skills, logistics, finance and tourism sectors. Low cost and reliable access to space will also help to grow the UK’s world-leading small satellite sector. Our regional LaunchUK events are demonstrating strong industry interest, including in Northern Ireland’s important specialist manufacturing sector.More information is available in the Impact Assessment for the Modern Transport Bill (now the Space Industry Bill), published at http://www.legislation.gov.uk.

Geoengineering: Regulation

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals for the regulation of geo-engineering.

Claire Perry: Geo-engineering is the deliberate large-scale intervention in the Earth’s natural systems to counteract climate change. A wide range of different geo-engineering techniques has been proposed, in two broad categories: those to remove greenhouse gases directly from the atmosphere and those to reflect some of the Sun’s energy that reaches Earth back into space.Some forms of geo-engineering are already regulated. For instance, in England, large-scale afforestation is covered by Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations. Oceans are protected from ocean fertilisation activities and, potentially, other forms of marine geo-engineering by the Protocol to the London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter.We are not proposing to bring forward legislative proposals for further regulation of geo-engineering at this time.

Made Smarter Review

Bim Afolami: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how he plans to implement the recommendations proposed in the final report from the Made Smarter Review.

Bim Afolami: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education and the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the recommendations proposed in the final report from the Made Smarter Review.

Claire Perry: The Government welcomes the independent industry led ‘Made Smarter Review’. We look forward to working with industry and colleagues to capitalise on the huge potential digitalisation offers to UK manufacturing highlighted in the report.My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State, along with colleagues across government including the Department for Education and Department for Culture, Media & Sport, are carefully considering the recommendations set out in the final report.

Made Smarter Review

Bim Afolami: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential contribution of part-time distance learning in supporting the delivery of the recommendations in the final report from the Made Smarter Review.

Bim Afolami: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what engagement his Department has had with the part-time distance learning sector on delivering the recommendations made in the final report of the Made Smarter Review.

Claire Perry: The Government welcomes the independent industry led ‘Made Smarter Review’. We look forward to working with industry and colleagues, including those in the part-time distance learning sector to capitalise on the huge potential digitalisation offers to UK manufacturing highlighted in the report.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Social Media

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people in his Department with responsibility for social media are employed on an (a) full and (b) part-time basis.

Margot James: BEIS has seven staff members whose responsibilities include the management of the department’s online communities and channels, including web management and publishing, social media management, consultation support, data analysis and digital advertising. No staff work full time on social media management.

Industry

Steve Double: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to include the tourism and hospitality sector in his Industrial Strategy White Paper.

Claire Perry: The Industrial Strategy is a framework for Government to work in partnership with industry, academia, civil society and business over the years ahead to build on the UK’s strengths, make more of our untapped potential and create a more productive economy that works for everyone across the UK.Our ambition is, therefore, for the Industrial Strategy to support businesses from all sectors of the economy to prosper and grow, including in the tourism and hospitality sector.

Local Government: Aberdeen

Ross Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with (a) the Scottish Government and (b) Scottish local authorities on maximising the value of the 2015 Aberdeen city deal for the local and regional economy.

Margot James: UK Government, Scottish Government and Aberdeen City Region agreed the full Aberdeen City Region Deal in November 2016. The Government continues to work closely with all partners to ensure the deal drives growth and builds economic resilience, helping to diversify the wider economy of the North East of Scotland. The Deal provides £250 million for the City Region including investment in the establishment of the new Oil and Gas Technology Centre to exploit remaining oil and gas reserves and drive innovation in decommissioning technology.

Natural Gas

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to his Department's report, Gas security of supply: a strategic assessment of Great Britain's gas security of supply, published on 12 October 2017, whether that assessment does not assume any contribution from fracking activity.

Richard Harrington: In order to provide a conservative estimate of supply, supply forecasts used in the report, and in the supporting analysis, assume no shale contributions in the forecast period.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

BBC Monitoring

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on what date he will reinstate his proposed visit to the BBC Monitoring Service at Caversham Park, together with the chairmen of three select committees, formerly scheduled for 19 October 2017.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Foreign Secretary hopes to visit BBC Monitoring at Caversham Park as soon as diaries allow. Officials are working to arrange a suitable date.

Falkland Islands: UN Special Committee on Decolonisation

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has invited the UN decolonisation committee to visit the Falkland Islands.

Sir Alan Duncan: We have repeatedly encouraged the UN Decolonisation Committee to accept the Falkland Islands Government's invitation to visit the Islands to better inform them of the realities of life as a UK Overseas Territory.

Falkland Islands: Oil

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made on developing oil reserves around the Falkland Islands.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Falklands oil and gas industry is managed by the Falkland Islands Government. Any assessment of the opportunities is the responsibility of the Falkland Islands Government and the private companies concerned.

Russia: BBC

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the risk of restrictions being placed on BBC personnel based in Russia in response to restrictions being placed on Russia Today in western countries; how capable the BBC Monitoring Service is compensating in the UK for any restrictions placed on its personnel in Russia; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​The BBC are aware of these risks and have contingency plans in place for ensuring the continuity of their services, including BBC Monitoring, and the safety of their staff.

South Africa: Crimes of Violence

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the South African Government on the scale of violence against rural residents and farmers.

Rory Stewart: We are aware of and concerned about the issue of violent crime in South Africa, including in rural and isolated areas such as farms. Our High Commission in South Africa monitor the situation closely and are in contact with the South African law enforcement agencies regarding safety and security in the country. This includes incidents which have affected British nationals. The South African Government assures us that tackling crime in all its forms is a high priority.​

Sudan: Religious Freedom

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to promote freedom of religion and belief in Sudan as part of the UK-Sudan strategic dialogue.

Rory Stewart: We used the fourth session of the UK-Sudan Strategic Dialogue on 16 October to raise with Sudan's Special Rapporteur for the Advisory Council for Human Rights our concerns about reports of restrictions on freedom of religion or belief, in particular with regard to the demolition of churches and the restrictions on Christian schools closing on Sundays. Sudan remains a Human Rights Priority Country for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

South Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to support Church-led reconciliation efforts in South Sudan.

Rory Stewart: The work of the churches is vital for addressing the causes of conflict in South Sudan. The British Government recently agreed a package of funding that will help the South Sudan Council of Churches to implement their Action Plan for Peace. The Action Plan, which promotes the development of neutral fora where an inclusive dialogue can take place, will play an important role in the pursuit of peace and reconciliation.

South Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in Uganda and Kenya on the peace process in South Sudan.

Rory Stewart: The UK is encouraging both the Government and opposition to respond constructively to the IGAD-led initiative to revitalise the peace process, negotiate a ceasefire and improve humanitarian access. The immediate priority for the initiative must be a negotiated ceasefire amongst a broad range of armed actors. The UK Special Representative to South Sudan, alongside his Troika counterparts, has recently held discussions with key senior officials and ministers of IGAD member states to encourage positive engagement with the process. The Minister of State has also spoken to his counterparts in both Uganda and Kenya to press for a resolution.

South Africa: Crimes of Violence

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the scale of the violence against rural dwellers and farmers in South Africa.

Rory Stewart: We are aware of and concerned about the issue of violent crime in South Africa, including in rural and isolated areas such as farms. Our High Commission in South Africa monitor the situation closely and are in contact with the South African law enforcement agencies regarding safety and security in the country. This includes incidents which have affected British nationals. The South African Government assures us that tackling crime in all its forms is a high priority.​

Pakistan: Blasphemy

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports his Department has received on the case of three Ahmadi Muslims who were sentenced to death in early November 2017 by a court in Pakistan for allegedly breaking that country's blasphemy laws; and whether his Department has made representations to the Government of Pakistan on behalf of those three people.

Mark Field: The UK remains firmly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances. We have repeatedly called upon the Government of Pakistan to end capital punishment and, at a minimum, commit to renewing the previously imposed moratorium. We regularly raise our concerns about freedom of religion or belief and the misuse of the blasphemy laws with the Pakistani Government at a senior level. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson), raised religious tolerance and misuse of the blasphemy laws during his visit to Pakistan in November 2016. During my visit to Pakistan earlier this month I raised the death penalty and the treatment of religious minorities, including discrimination and violence against the Ahmadiyya community with Pakistan’s Ministry of Human Rights.During the Universal Periodic Review of Pakistan on 13 November in Geneva we expressed our concerns about human rights and limits on freedoms of expression and religion or belief, particularly for the Ahmadiyya Muslim and Christian communities. We called for a clear timeline for the review of legislation carrying the death penalty with the aim of limiting the scope of crimes to which it applies.The Government will continue to urge Pakistan to honour in practice its human rights obligations, including those related to the death penalty and freedom of expression and religion.​

Human Trafficking: Laos

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if the Government will make representations to the Government of Laos on measures to stop the trafficking of young girls from that country.

Mark Field: Tackling modern slavery is a domestic and foreign policy priority for the UK Government, with personal commitment from the Prime Minister. All sovereign posts have been instructed to make a contribution to this goal. The UK encouraged the Government of Laos to attend the IV Global Conference on Child Labour on 14-16 November in Argentina, at which we co-hosted a side event, and are seeking their endorsement of the UK’s Call to Action to End Forced Labour, Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery. The Call to Action includes a set of principles and outline actions to take forward at national and international level.

Iran: Nuclear Power

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on that country's commitment to the 2015 Iranian Nuclear Deal; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: ​Since President Trump's announcement of his decision not to re-certify the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to Congress, we have engaged with the US and other international partners to explore the implications and make clear our concerns. The Prime Minister made clear to President Trump the UK's strong commitment to the deal, which is vitally important for UK and regional security. The Foreign Secretary visited the US on 8 and 9 November and spoke with the Administration and Congress to make the same point.

Israel: Gaza

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the extent of renewed tunnel building into Israel by Hamas in Gaza.

Alistair Burt: ​We remain deeply concerned by Hamas attempts to rearm and rebuild militant infrastructure, including the tunnel network, in Gaza. Hamas rearmament undermines efforts to improve the situation in Gaza and harms the prospects for peace and stability in the Middle East.

Hezbollah: Weapons

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the extent of Hezbollah's weapon arsenal.

Alistair Burt: We are aware of reports that Hizballah continues to amass an arsenal of weapons. We condemn the threat this poses to regional stability and the direct contravention of UNSCRs 1559 and 1701.

Iran: Guided Weapons

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the progress made on Iran's ballistic missile programme.

Alistair Burt: We have significant concerns over Iran's ballistic missile programme, which contributes to its destabilising regional role. Iran has conducted ballistic missile activity which is inconsistent with UNSCR 2231. We have raised our concerns with Iran and we, along with partners, have written to the UN Secretary General to express this concern. We keep Iran's ballistic missile programme under constant review and remain committed to enforcing all international restrictions on this programme.

Middle East: Violence

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the diplomatic implications of recent violence in Israel and the West Bank.

Alistair Burt: Every Israeli and Palestinian has the right to live in peace and security. We understand and share the deep frustration on all sides at the lack of progress on the Middle East Peace Process. The ongoing violence in Israel and the West Bank underlines that a just and lasting resolution that ends the occupation and delivers peace for both Israelis and Palestinians is long overdue.

Palestinians: Radicalism

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the extent of institutionalised radicalisation in the Palestinian territories.

Alistair Burt: We strongly condemn all violence and all incitement to commit violence. We are deeply concerned by continued incitement against Israel in the Hamas-run media and education system. The glorification of terrorists as “martyrs” is a barrier to peace. But President Abbas and the Palestinian Authority have repeatedly demonstratd their their commitment to non-violence and a negotiated two-state solution. It is important the Palestinian leadership continue efforts to fully implement the recommendations of the Quartet Report regarding incitement. I raised the issue of incitement with senior Palestinian officials during my visit to the region in August.

Iran: Baha'i Faith

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports his Department has received on the rate at which the Iranian Government has forced Baha'i shops and businesses to be sealed; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: ​We are aware of reports that over 100 Baha'i owned shops and businesses were forced to close for observing Baha'i holy days and, in particular, for observing the bicentenary of the birth of Baha'u'llah earlier this year. Reports estimate that there have been over 1,170 incidents of economic suppression against Iranian Baha'is since 2005. The British Government calls on Iran to respect the rights and freedoms of all its citizens no matter what their religion or belief.

Iran: Baha'i Faith

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has received reports on an increase in the number of expulsions of Baha'i university students in Iran since June 2017, and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The treatment of the Baha'i community in Iran is of particular concern. This includes recent reports of an increased number of Baha'i students being expelled from university, as well as the denial of access to higher education for adherents of the Baha'i faith, and reports of students being forced to renounce their faith in order to further their education. The British Government supports the UN Special Rapporteur's assessment that discrimination against the Baha'i community in Iran is aggravated by lack of recognition for the Baha'i faith in the Iranian constitution. We call on Iran to respect the rights and freedoms of all its citizens no matter what their religion or belief.

Zimbabwe: Politics and Government

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with (a) his Zimbabwean counterpart and (b) the Commander of the Zimbabwean Defence Force on maintaining peace and stability in Zimbabwe.

Rory Stewart: There has been no ministerial contact with the Zimbabwean Government. Officials met the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and senior military figures in the Ministry of Defence, including the Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, on 15 November.​​​

Palestinians: Foreign Relations

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the objectives of the Government's diplomatic and political policy on Palestine are for 2017; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The UK is committed to supporting the Palestinian Authority (PA) and strengthening UK-Palestinian relations. The UK’s long-standing policy on the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) is to support a negotiated settlement leading to a viable and sovereign Palestinian state living alongside a safe and secure Israel. We are planning to provide £56 million in funding to the OPTs in FY 2017/18, helping to lay the foundation for the development of a future Palestinian state by fostering the development of the necessary state institutions. UK support helps to maintain stability, and supports the PA to act as an effective partner for peace with Israel.

Burma: Rohingya

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Government of Burma on allegations of mass rape in Rohingya women and children in Rakhine State.

Mark Field: The Foreign Secretary has repeatedly been clear about the need for the Burmese authorities to end the violence in Rakhine. This includes sexual violence. He has made these calls in telephone conversations with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi on 7 and 17 September, and 21 October; and to the Burmese National Security Advisor and Deputy Foreign Minister at a meeting of foreign ministers he convened at the UN on 18 September.I met Burma's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs on 20 September at the UN and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma on 27 September, and reiterated the same messages. Our Ambassador and Embassy officials in Rangoon have regularly raised concerns with Burmese Ministers, most recently with the Defence Minister on 31 October.Lord Ahmad made a statement at the Human Rights Council on 11 September which made clear the UK strongly condemned the violence in Rakhine, and called on all parties to de-escalate tensions and address the humanitarian crisis.

Iran: Diplomatic Service

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what criteria are used by the British Embassy in Tehran to compile and approve the list of translators and interpreters in Iran.

Alistair Burt: ​The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has standard criteria for the compilation of local service provider lists, including those of translators and interpreters. The criteria are global and not country specific. The following information is requested from all providers in order to be considered for inclusion on a service provider list:- Whether they have English speaking staff available;- Whether they are affiliated to the local regulatory authority or body;- Whether they have had experience of representing British nationals before;- Whether their staff speak any other languages;- What areas or regions of the country they provide services for;- Whether they are able to take instructions by e-mail or fax, or only face-to-face;- Whether they provide information about their costs, in writing.

Iran: British Nationals Abroad

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reasons Iran does not appear in the Prisoner Packs collection on gov.uk; and whether his Department plans to publish information for British nationals on the legal and prisons systems in Iran.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does have a prisoner pack for Iran which is made available to British national prisoners at the first consular visit. Our Ambassador to Iran regularly requests consular access to our dual-national prisoners, however Iran considers these individuals to be Iranians under Iranian law and has therefore not granted the British Government access. Although there is no international legal obligation to recognise dual nationality, we consider them to be British and will continue to request access to them. An online copy of the prisoner pack will be made available in due course.

Iran: Diplomatic Service

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether affiliation to the Iranian judiciary is a condition for translators to be included on his Department's list of translators and interpreters in Iran; and whether his Department plans to take steps to ensure that such affiliation does not compromise the impartiality of those translators.

Alistair Burt: ​The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has standard criteria for the compilation of local service provider lists, including those of translators and interpreters. The criteria are global and not country specific. All translators and interpreters are asked to provide information on which local regulatory authority or body they are affiliated to. Affiliation to a particular authority or body is not a condition for inclusion on a list, but any information provided on affiliation is included in the list.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps: Human Rights

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on the role of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in human rights violations in Iran.

Alistair Burt: The human rights situation in Iran is a serious concern and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has designated Iran as a human rights priority country. The latest report by the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran sets out the role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in human rights violations in Iran, in particular, their role in the harassment and detention of minority groups. Several prominent members of the IRGC are listed under EU human rights sanctions and I was able to raise our wider human rights concerns with my Iranian counterpart during my visit to Tehran in August this year.

Yemen: Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on the role of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in supplying arms and ballistic missiles to the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Alistair Burt: The UK is aware of reports that Iran has provided the Houthis with ballistic missiles. These reports are deeply concerning, and it is essential that the UN investigates them fully. The UK strongly condemns Houthi missile attacks on Saudi Arabia, including the ballistic missile attempt of 4 November. Such attacks prolong the conflict in Yemen, fuel regional tensions and undermine UN efforts to reach a political solution.The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and associated entities are known to be involved in multiple regional conflicts, including operating through proxies. The Government is clear that Iran should cease disruptive involvement in regional conflicts, and should instead look to play a constructive role in regional stability.​

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has set a date to meet the lawyers of Richard Ratcliffe to discuss the exercise of diplomatic protection.

Alistair Burt: ​The Foreign Secretary met with Richard Ratcliffe on 15 November. He explained that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was looking at the merits and risks of diplomatic protection and would keep him updated on our analysis.

Iran: Visits Abroad

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on what date he plans to visit Iran.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign Secretary has stated in this House that he intends to travel to Iran later this year. The date of this visit is not yet confirmed.​​

Burma: Rohingya

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what measures are in place to provide support and treatment to Rohingya women and children who are victims of or witness to sexual violence.

Mark Field: The British Government is funding the provision of medical services, counselling and psychological support to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh who have either witnessed or are survivors of sexual violence themselves. This support is being delivered through UN agencies and the NGO Action Against Hunger. The UK is also supporting UNICEF initiatives that help survivors of gender-based violence identify and access the support they need, and create 30 child-friendly spaces in the refugee camps. The UK is also funding the deployment of an official to coordinate the UN gender-based violence response in Cox's Bazar, and seeking ways to expand the gender-based violence response in coordination with aid agencies and other partners.The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has also sent two Deployable Civilian Experts to Bangladesh on 14 November, with support from the cross-Whitehall Stabilisation Unit. They will carry out an assessment of the extent of reported sexual violence, the current response to the needs of victims of gender based violence in Bangladesh, and identify gaps in service provision and provide recommendations for the UK. They will also conduct a thorough review of the investigation and documentation of sexual violence, through use of the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict and make recommendations on possible UK support in this area.In Burma the UK continues to press for greater humanitarian access to Northern Rakhine​.​​​

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps: Human Rights

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made on recent activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in respect of human rights defenders and the arrests of dual citizens; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: We are concerned about reports of harassment and detention of human rights defenders and dual citizens by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Iran.The Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and I regularly raise all our dual national detainee cases at the highest levels and at every opportunity. I last raised our cases with the Iranian Ambassador on 14 November. Officials in London and Tehran, including our Ambassador, also regularly raise these cases.The human rights situation in Iran is a serious concern and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has designated Iran as a human rights priority country. Several prominent members of the IRGC are listed under EU human rights sanctions and I was able to raise wider concerns about the harassment and detention of certain groups in Iran with my Iranian counterpart during my visit to Tehran in August this year.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps: Sanctions

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to retain EU sanctions against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in British law when the UK has left from the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The British Government is putting to Parliament a Sanctions Bill which, if agreed, will allow the UK to continue implementing sanctions once we have left the EU.We have not yet made decisions about the extent to which we will maintain current EU sanctions. This will depend both on political judgements closer to the time and on legal considerations once the Sanctions Bill becomes law. However we expect that the UK and EU will want to maintain a high degree of cooperation on sanctions in many cases.The British Government will consider EU sanctions against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps alongside the other existing EU sanctions as part of the sanctions transfer process.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Violence

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Government of Democratic Republic of Congo on incidents of violence in October 2017 involving killings and the attack on a Christian hospital.

Rory Stewart: The UK is deeply concerned by the continuing violence in many parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), especially in the East where we believe the attack on the Christian Hospital occurred. We frequently raise our concerns with the Government of DRC since the Government of the DRC holds primary responsibility for providing security for its citizens. However, the presence of a UN peacekeeping force in the DRC (MONUSCO) means that we also regularly discuss how to improve security with the UN. We recognise the need for MONUSCO troops to do more and in the most recent peacekeeping mandate for MONUSCO in March, alongside our partners at the UNSC, we ensured that the protection of civilians continued to be the number one priority for the mission.

China: Legal Profession

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Chinese counterpart on the harassment, arrest and disappearance of human rights lawyers in that country.

Mark Field: ​We are deeply concerned about reports that lawyers and their associates are being detained for carrying out their duties in China.We raised this issue with the Chinese authorities at the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue, which was held in Beijing on 27 June, and urged the Chinese authorities to release those individuals detained for seeking to protect the rights of others

China: Religious Freedom

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on that Government's revisions to regulations on religion and their effect on freedom of religion or belief.

Mark Field: ​We remain concerned about restrictions on freedom of religion or belief, and on the rights of ethnic minorities in China. We are also aware of reports of the closure or demolition of churches, of the removal of crosses from buildings, and that individuals are being harassed or detained for their beliefs across China. We are concerned that new draft guidelines on religion in China may restrict lawful and peaceful observance of religion.We raised these matters directly with the Chinese authorities at the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in Beijing on 27 June. We also issued an item IV statement at the 35th UN Human Rights Council in June reiterating these concerns.

China: Surveillance

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on that Government's policy on residential surveillance at a designated location.

Mark Field: ​We have concerns around access to justice, fair treatment in the criminal justice system and residential surveillance in China.We most recently raised these issues at the latest round of the UK/China Human Rights Dialogue which took place in Beijing on 27 June 2017

China: Religious Buildings

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Chinese counterpart on the demolition of Buddhist and Christian buildings in that country.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Chinese counterpart on restrictions on freedom of religion or belief for Tibetan Buddhists in that country.

Mark Field: We remain concerned about restrictions on freedom of religion or belief, and on the rights of ethnic minorities in China. We are also aware of reports of the closure or demolition of churches, of ​the removal of crosses from buildings, and that individuals are being harassed or detained for their beliefs across China. We are concerned that new draft guidelines on religion in China may restrict lawful and peaceful observance of religion.We raised these matters directly with the Chinese authorities at the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in Beijing on 27 June. We also issued an item IV statement at the 35th UN Human Rights Council in June reiterating these concerns.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Foreign Affairs, whether he has had discussions with her US counterpart on that country's decision to add the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorist groupings.

Alistair Burt: In addition to US sanctions, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is already subject to EU sanctions in its entirety. Furthermore, a large number of individuals and entities are also designated because of their support for, or links to, the IRGC. Listings fall under the EU's proliferation and human rights sanctions regimes relating to Iran, as well as under the EU Syria sanctions regime.The UK – including during the Foreign Secretary’s recent visit to Washington – regularly talks to the US about a variety of issues related to Iran, including our commitment to keeping the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and our concerns about Iran’s destabilising activities in the region.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Trade Agreements

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether he plans to undertake a gender impact analysis of potential future trade deals with the EU.

Mr Steve Baker: This government has made a firm commitment to maintaining the UK’s long-standing record of ensuring our rights and liberties are protected as we exit the EU. All government departments have an ongoing responsibility to meet the Public Sector Equalities Duty (PSED) under the Equality Act 2010. As such, when formulating any policy changes relating to EU exit, ministers must have due regard to the three limbs of the PSED: (1) eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Act, (2) advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not, and (3) foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. “Sex” is a relevant protected characteristic, so gender impacts will be included in these considerations.

European Free Trade Association

John Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether the Government has discussed with the EU negotiating team the possibility of the UK rejoining the European Free Trade Association after the UK leaves the EU.

John Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether the Government has discussed with the European Free Trade Association the UK rejoining that association.

Mr Robin Walker: As the Government has made clear, when we leave the EU, we will be leaving the Single Market. The UK will not seek a model already enjoyed by other countries. European Economic Area membership would, for example, mean the UK having to adopt in future new EU rules over which we will have little influence and no vote. As such, we will not be seeking to join EFTA in order to remain party to the EEA Agreement. We will instead pursue a new, ambitious economic partnership.

Brexit

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2017 to Question 110920, what the reasons are for the Government's publication of its economic assessment of a no deal scenario potentially undermining the UK's negotiating position.

Mr Robin Walker: As the Government has already made clear, we are undertaking a comprehensive programme of analytical work that will contribute to our exit negotiations, help to define our future partnership with the EU, and inform our understanding of how EU exit will affect the UK’s domestic policies and frameworks. We have been clear that we recognise that Parliament has rights relating to the publication of documents. However, ministers also face conflicting responsibilities - such as a clear obligation not to disclose information when doing so would not be in the public interest. Anything that evaluates the impact of no deal or anything that evaluates the impact of alternative negotiation outcomes/options is negotiation sensitive and therefore will not be published.

EU Nationals: Civil Service

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions his Department has had with Michel Barnier on the future of non-UK EU citizens working in the Civil Service in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: We have been consistently clear that we want an early agreement on the rights of all EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU, on a reciprocal basis - of course, this includes non-UK EU nationals currently working in the Civil Service in the UK, to whom fall under this agreement. We recognise the valuable contribution of all civil servants, including the contribution that those who come from EU countries make. We welcome those with the skills and expertise to make our nation better still. We are continuing negotiations in a constructive way and are determined to reach agreement.

Food: Standards

Laura Pidcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps he is taking to ensure that food standards will be maintained after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: The UK has world leading standards of food safety and quality, backed by a rigorous legislative framework. The EU (Withdrawal) Bill will ensure we are able to maintain these high standards once the UK leaves the European Union. The Government is committed to ensuring high food standards at home, and promoting high standards internationally. We will ensure there is a food standards framework in place that protects consumer interests, maximises confidence, and facilitates international trade.

Borders: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether Northern Ireland will remain in the EEA to secure a seamless and frictionless border with the Republic of Ireland after the UK leaves the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robin Walker: As the Prime Minister has made clear, and as established in our Position Paper on Northern Ireland and Ireland published in August, we remain firmly committed to avoiding a hard border, including any physical infrastructure between Northern Ireland and Ireland. We recognise the need for specific solutions for the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland and Ireland. But that solution cannot come at the cost of the constitutional and economic integrity of the United Kingdom, and cannot amount to creating a new border inside our United Kingdom.

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: Leprosy

Fiona Onasanya: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, for what reason her Department excluded leprosy from UK funding priorities for the neglected tropical diseases programmes.

Fiona Onasanya: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which Minister of her Department took the decision to exclude leprosy from the funding priorities for the neglected tropical diseases programmes.

Fiona Onasanya: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department's policy on combating neglected tropical diseases worldwide includes specific plans on combatting leprosy.

Alistair Burt: DFID is a leading donor tackling neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) globally through a range of NTD programmes, activities with the relevant part of WHO and research. DFID works to strengthen health systems, which helps countries to prevent and treat causes of ill health, including leprosy. DFID also funds civil society organisations such as Leprosy Mission England and Wales and LEPRA to diagnose, treat and support those afflicted with leprosy. DFID’s decision to focus on certain NTDs in existing programmes was based on analysis of disease burden, gaps, impact and cost effectiveness.Our new ASCEND programme to tackle NTDs is being designed to be flexible and could include leprosy if activities can be delivered in an integrated way with focus diseases.

South Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding she plans to allocate from the public purse to dialogue-based peace-building projects in Abyei Province, South Sudan in the next 12 months.

Rory Stewart: The UK Government currently has no plans to allocate funds to dialogue-based peacebuilding projects in Abyei in the next 12 months.

Developing Countries: Drug Resistance

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make it her policy to support development projects aimed at improving sanitation and infection control as part of efforts to reduce anti-microbial resistance.

Alistair Burt: The Department for International Development continues to support programmes and projects which focus on the reduction of anti-microbial resistance (AMR) by through DFID’s approach to health system strengthening with country partners. This emphasises the importance of improving infection control, hygiene and sanitation in health facilities, which is key for the prevention of infections and AMR. In addition, we continue to support millions of people to get access to household sanitation and hygiene which will help reduce disease and so demand for antibiotics.

Yemen: Diesel Fuel and Petrol

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of (a) the availability of diesel and petrol in Yemen, (b) how long supplies of diesel and petrol are expected to last there and (c) the effect of that availability on the humanitarian situation in Yemen.

Alistair Burt: The UK is deeply concerned by the serious deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Yemen, and calls on all parties to ensure immediate access for commercial and humanitarian supplies, particularly to Hodeidah port, to avert the threat of starvation and disease faced by millions of civilians.Restrictions on imports have already reduced the availability of fuel, and led to price increases of up to 160%, according to UN reports. As of November 12, the UN assessed that unless imports resume, diesel stocks in the north of the country would deplete in 20 days, and petrol stocks would deplete in 10 days.Fuel is crucial for the delivery of aid and medical supplies, the functioning of clinics and hospitals, as well as other essential public infrastructure, such as water supply systems and waste water treatment plants.

Department for Education

Arts: GCSE

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students have studied at least two arts subjects at GCSE level in York in (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17.

Nick Gibb: The number of pupils, at the end of KS4[1], with at least two entries[2] into arts subjects at GCSE level (including equivalents)[3] in York4 is:Year[4]Pupils entering at least two art subjects at GCSE20161742017136 Figures provided for 2015-16 are based on final data and may differ slightly from previously published figures in PQ 52977. [1] Pupils are identified as being at the end of key stage 4 if they were on roll at the school and in year 11 at the time of the January school census for that year. Age is calculated as at 31 August for that year, and the majority of pupils at the end of key stage 4 were age 15 at the start of the academic year. Some pupils may complete this key stage in an earlier or later year group.[2] In line with secondary performance measures and early entry policy, discounting has been applied. More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-stage-4-qualifications-discount-codes-and-point-scores.[3] Includes: Applied Art & Design, Art & Design, Drama, Performing Arts, Media/Film/TV Studies, Music and Dance. Does not include History of Art and Creative Writing. Includes GCSE full courses, level 2 equivalents, GCSE double awards and AS levels.[4] 2016 data is final and may differ from previously published figures. 2017 data is provisional.

Arts: GCSE

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many GCSE entries for arts subjects there were from students in York in (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17.

Nick Gibb: The number of entries[1] into arts subjects at GCSE level (including equivalents)[2], by pupils at the end of key stage 4[3] in York[4] is:Year[5]Number of entries into art subjects at GCSE2015-161,0232016-17901 Figures provided for 2015-16 are based on final data and may differ slightly from previously published figures in PQ 52978. [1] In line with secondary performance measures and early entry policy, discounting has been applied. More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-stage-4-qualifications-discount-codes-and-point-scores.[2] Includes: Applied Art & Design, Art & Design, Drama, Performing Arts, Media/Film/TV Studies, Music and Dance. Does not include History of Art and Creative Writing. Includes GCSE full courses, level 2 equivalents, GCSE double awards and AS levels.[3] Pupils are identified as being at the end of key stage 4 if they were on roll at the school and in year 11 at the time of the January school census for that year. Age is calculated as at 31 August for that year, and the majority of pupils at the end of key stage 4 were age 15 at the start of the academic year. Some pupils may complete this key stage in an earlier or later year group.[4] All pupils at the end of key stage 4 who attend a school in the local authority of York.[5] 2016 data is final and may differ from previously published figures. 2017 data is provisional.

Music: GCSE

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students studied music at GCSE level in York in (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17.

Nick Gibb: The number of pupils, at the end of key stage 4[1], who entered[2] music at GCSE level (including equivalents)[3] in York[4]is: Year[5]Pupils entering Music GCSE's2015-161482016-17147 Figures provided for 2015-16 are based on final data and may differ slightly from previously published figures in PQ 52979. [1] Pupils are identified as being at the end of key stage 4 if they were on roll at the school and in year 11 at the time of the January school census for that year. Age is calculated as at 31 August for that year, and the majority of pupils at the end of key stage 4 were age 15 at the start of the academic year. Some pupils may complete this key stage in an earlier or later year group.[2] In line with secondary performance measures and early entry policy, discounting has been applied. More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-stage-4-qualifications-discount-codes-and-point-scores.[3] Includes: Music and Music Technology. Includes GCSE full courses, level 2 equivalents, GCSE double awards and AS levels.[4] All pupils at the end of key stage 4 who attend a school in the local authority of York.[5] 2016 data is final and may differ from previously published figures. 2017 data is provisional.

Special Educational Needs

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance or advice her Department provides in relation to autism and SEND training for non-teaching, school-based staff and school governors.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The department has funded the Autism Education Trust (AET) since 2012 to deliver autism awareness training for early years, school and post-16 education staff. To date, the AET has provided training, through sub-contracted ‘hubs’, for more than 150,000 education staff. The training is available not just for head teachers, teachers and teaching assistants, but also for school governors and support staff such as receptionists, dining hall staff and caretakers, encouraging a ‘whole school’ approach to supporting pupils with autism. The Trust has also published national autism standards for educational settings and a competency framework for those working with children and young people with autism.In addition to our work with the AET, the Department for Education has also supported a number of initiatives to support schools in meeting the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). We have funded the Whole School SEND consortium to develop a range of resources to support education practitioners in identifying and addressing weaknesses in provision for pupils with SEND, including a guide on the effective deployment of Teaching Assistants http://www.tareview.com/. The Whole School SEND consortium is also training SEND reviewers and is developing models of good practice in SEND provision for strategic leaders and for school governors, which will be available early next year. We have recently published a review of the research evidence and an interactive ‘what works’ resource to help schools in supporting those with SEND. These materials are freely available on the nasen’s SEND Gateway and the Education & Training Foundation Excellence Gateway.

Apprentices

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential reasons for the reduction in the number of apprenticeship starts after the Apprenticeship Levy was introduced.

Anne Milton: Our reforms, the largest changes to apprenticeships government has ever made, are supporting an increase in the quality of apprenticeships and allowing apprentices to develop their talents and progress their careers. It is only natural that employers, and the apprenticeship market, take time to reflect on what the changes mean and how to maximise the opportunities they represent. In light of these changes, it is premature to draw definitive conclusions regarding the potential reasons for any fall in starts, on the basis of the limited data available. The Government’s reforms are ultimately intended to invest in the potential of people of all ages and backgrounds. We are consulting widely with employers, providers and apprentices and are continually reviewing the impact of these reforms.

First Aid: Schools

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that first aid is taught in schools.

Nick Gibb: Schools are free to teach first aid, and many schools already choose to teach it as part of personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE), building on the relevant statutory content in the National Curriculum, such as the science programmes of study at key stages 3 and 4. Schools are free to draw on materials from expert organisations; for example the non-statutory programme of study produced by the PSHE Association, which encourages schools to teach young people how to recognise and follow health and safety procedures, ways of reducing risk and minimising harm in risky situations, and how to use emergency and basic first aid. The Children and Social Work Act provides powers for the Secretary of State to make PSHE, or elements therein, mandatory in all schools, subject to careful consideration.We have begun an engagement process to support the development of the regulations and guidance on Relationships Education for primary schools, and Relationships and Sex Education for secondary schools, and to be able to consider carefully the future status of PSHE.

Higher Education: Private Sector

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much has been paid to students of private Higher Education providers who were subsequently determined to be ineligible in each of the last five full financial years.

Joseph Johnson: Holding answer received on 20 November 2017



All higher education providers are autonomous and privately run. This includes Higher Education Funding Council for England funded higher education institutions and alternative providers, which can be designated for student support purposes by the department. At the same time, some privately run institutions may be subject to obligations imposed on public authorities (e.g. the Freedom of Information Act 2000). As a result of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, the Office for Students will regulate all registered English higher education providers through its regulatory framework, which is currently being consulted on. The department, with the Student Loans Company, regularly reviews its controls designed to ensure that payments to ineligible students across the sector are minimised. In particular, ineligible payments made in relation to alternative providers were considered by the National Audit Office (NAO) in its recent report ‘Follow-up on alternative higher education providers’. In their report, the NAO noted that the level of ineligible payments has fallen as a proportion of all payments to students attending alternative providers, from 4% in 2012/13 to 0.5% in 2015/16, in line with the rate of ineligible payments across the higher education sector (0.8%). Data on ineligible payments made in relation to alternative providers is presented by academic year in the attached document.



Payments to ineligible students at APs 
(Word Document, 12.24 KB)

Higher Education: Private Sector

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what safeguards her Department proposes that the Office for Students should implement to prevent the abuse of student loan funding by private higher education providers in respect of new private providers who will be eligible to offer courses under the provisions of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017.

Joseph Johnson: Holding answer received on 20 November 2017



All higher education providers are autonomous and privately run. This includes Higher Education Funding Council for England funded higher education institutions and alternative providers, which can be designated for student support purposes by the department. At the same time, some privately run institutions may be subject to obligations imposed on public authorities (e.g. the Freedom of Information Act 2000). As a result of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, the Office for Students (OfS) will regulate all registered English higher education providers through its regulatory framework, which is currently being consulted on. As the market regulator, the OfS will act swiftly and decisively where the interest of the student and the taxpayer is at risk at any registered provider of Higher Education. The OfS will undertake rigorous checks before a provider may join the register and access public funds as well as risk-based ongoing monitoring of providers. It will have a range of powers and responses which it will employ at a sector and individual provider level, as appropriate and proportionate, both to prevent fraud and to act when fraud is suspected. Where necessary, the OfS will be able to, on obtaining a Magistrates’ warrant, use powers of entry and search to investigate suspected serious breaches of a provider's OfS registration or funding conditions. The OfS will operate a new regulatory framework, which is currently being consulted on, and will act proportionately, focusing its resources to ensure that regulatory action is targeted where necessary.

Higher Education: Private Sector

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions Ministers or officials of her Department have had with the Chief Executive of the Student Loans Company on protections for higher education students enrolled with private providers.

Joseph Johnson: Holding answer received on 20 November 2017



All higher education providers are autonomous and privately run. This includes Higher Education Funding Council for England funded higher education institutions and alternative providers, which can be designated for student support purposes by the department. At the same time, some privately run institutions may be subject to obligations imposed on public authorities (e.g. the Freedom of Information Act 2000). As a result of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, the Office for Students will regulate all registered English higher education providers through its regulatory framework, which is currently being consulted on. Officials from the department have frequent meetings with the Student Loans Company to discuss the operation and performance of the Student Loan system. These include attendance at regular formal Board and Governance meetings by senior officials. In addition, there is regular operational engagement at official level on issues, trends and investigations.

Steve Lamey

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Universities Minister has had discussions with the Minister for the Cabinet Office on the process for disciplinary proceedings instigated against the former chief executive of the Student Loans Company, Steve Lamey.

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions the Universities Minister has had with fellow shareholders in the Student Loans Company in the devolved administrations on the circumstances of the dismissal of the chief executive of that company.

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions the Universities Minister has had with Sir Paul Jenkins on the criteria for his investigation of the allegations made against the former chief executive of the Student Loans Company, Steve Lamey.

Joseph Johnson: The decision to dismiss the Chief Executive was taken by Student Loans Company (SLC) following investigations into allegations about aspects of his management and leadership. The SLC and its shareholders expect the highest standards of management and leadership and these were not upheld by Mr Lamey.

Student Loans Company: Standards

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish a copy of the performance review of the Student Loans Company and its chief executive which was referred to in the 15 November edition of The Times newspaper.

Joseph Johnson: There are no plans to publish a copy of this document. Individual performance reports between Student Loans Company and its employees are confidential.

Student Loans Company: Public Appointments

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, who appointed the chair and board members of the Student Loans Company; and what the criteria and processes were for those appointments.

Joseph Johnson: The non-executive members, including the Chair of the Board of the Student Loans Company were appointed by Department for Education Ministers and Ministers in the Devolved Administrations. The appointments were made following open and transparent competition, and the recruitment and appointment processes fully complied with guidance issued by Cabinet Office and the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

Children: Day Care

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason there is a 10 hours per day maximum limit on free childcare.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The government is committed to ensuring that hardworking parents can access high-quality flexible childcare. In 2016, as part of a consultation on delivery of 30 hours, we asked respondents’ views about how we could increase flexibility for parents. We carefully balanced responses about the needs of working parents against those which focused on the wellbeing of the child, and concluded that the maximum session length of 10 hours should remain unchanged to protect the wellbeing of the child.

Members: Correspondence

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Minister for Schools plans to respond to the letter of 3 October from the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham on fair funding.

Nick Gibb: A reply was sent to the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) on 9 November 2017.

Schools: Sexual Offences

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the timetable is for the publication of interim guidance for schools on how to deal with sexual harassment and assault; and whether teachers will receive training on how to use that guidance.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Schools and colleges should be safe places for all children to learn and we are clear that sexual harassment and assault should never be tolerated in a school. Schools are under a statutory duty, to safeguard and promote the welfare of their pupils. As part of this duty they must have regard to the department’s statutory guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE). KCSIE sets out what staff should know and do to protect children. It also sets out that schools should have an effective child protection policy. The policy should include procedures to minimise the risk of peer on peer abuse and how allegations will be investigated and dealt with. My Rt hon. Friend, the Minister for Women, set out the steps the department is taking to address the issue of sexual harassment and violence in schools during the debate in the House of Commons on 2 November. We will be publishing interim advice for schools this term. We will also launch a public consultation this term on proposed updates to KCSIE. The department intend to publish the revised statutory guidance, for information, early in the summer term 2018. This will then be commenced and come into force at the start of the September 2018 school year.KCSIE sets out that governing bodies and proprietors should ensure that all staff undergo safeguarding and child protection training at induction. This training should be regularly updated and should be in line with advice from the Local Safeguarding Children Board.

Ministry of Justice

Probation: Privatisation

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the risk assessment conducted prior to the part-privatisation of the probation service.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Transforming Rehabilitation programme delivered fundamental reform of the probation system, creating the National Probation Service and Community Rehabilitation Companies and introducing supervision on licence to offenders serving custodial sentences of less than 12 months.It is standard practice during any significant government programme to assess the potential risks and to seek to mitigate them. The risk assessment conducted during Transforming Rehabilitation contains commercially sensitive information and cannot be published at this stage.

Community Rehabilitation Companies: Gloucestershire

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to improve the performance of Working Links Ltd and BGSW Community Rehabilitation Company as a result of the report from HM Inspectorate of Probation on Community Rehabilitation Company activity in Gloucestershire, published on 31 August 2017.

Mr Sam Gyimah: There is a contractual mechanism for dealing with recommendations made in HM Inspectorate of Probation reports and, as a result, we expect Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) to action all HMI Probation recommendations where reasonably practicable. Contract Management Teams give high priority to ensuring that these are followed through, and ensure that the actions are successful in addressing the points raised. Public protection is our top priority and we will take all necessary action to make sure the probation system is reducing reoffending and preventing future victims.

Community Rehabilitation Companies

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many community rehabilitation companies have a role in probation services; and what the (a) location, (b) length of contract and (c) cost of contract is for each such company.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Under the probation reforms, 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) were established to deliver rehabilitation services in England and Wales to low and medium risk offenders. All of the information you require can be found within the contract award notice, published via the following link: http://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:45770-2015:TEXT:EN:HTML

Domestic Violence

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions for offences involving domestic violence took place in each of the last five years.

Dr Phillip Lee: The Ministry of Justice does not hold this data either for prosecutions or convictions. Offences involving domestic abuse can take various forms and are prosecuted under the offence in law that best reflects their nature and circumstances, for example, harassment or assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Ministry of Justice: Telephone Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2017 to Question 111090, what estimate he has made of the proportion of higher-rate customer service lines that were transferred to local rate numbers in 2014.

Dr Phillip Lee: The exercise undertaken in 2014 identified that there were 56 numbers across the organisation that had a higher rate prefix. For all but two of those numbers a local call rate number was established or it was concluded that the number was not in scope for this exercise.

Ministry of Justice: Telephone Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2017, to Question 111090, if he will make it his policy to collate data on incoming telephone calls and charges to devolved organisations who work under contract to his Department.

Dr Phillip Lee: There are no plans to implement a policy of this nature.

Prisons: Construction

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to build new private prisons.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Government set out its ambition for a reformed prison estate in the November 2016 Prison Safety and Reform White Paper. Our reforms will close down ageing and ineffective prisons and replace them with buildings fit for today’s demands. The new prison estate will create the physical conditions for Governors to achieve better educational, training and rehabilitation outcomes. No decision has yet been made on who will operate the new prisons.

Community Orders: North Wales

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders were given community sentences in North Wales in each year for which data is available.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The number of offenders given community sentences in the North Wales Police Force area, from 1992 to 2016, can be viewed in the table attached. 



Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 28.5 KB)

Family Proceedings

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will make an assessment of whether there is a causal link between changing the level of family legal aid and the number of mediation assessments and starts in family law cases.

Dr Phillip Lee: The Government is committed to promoting mediation as a less stressful and quicker method of resolving private family disputes. Mediation must first be considered before private family cases are resolved in court proceedings, except in cases of domestic abuse. Since November 2014, legal aid covers the cost of the Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) and the first mediation session for both parties, even if just one of them is eligible. The Lord Chancellor recently announced the post-implementation review of the legal aid changes made by, and following, the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. The review will consider the effect of the major changes to legal aid made by LASPO as well as amendments made subsequently as part of the ‘Legal Aid Transformation’ programme. At the same time the Government laid a Post Legislative Memorandum which addressed the implementation of these changes.

Ministry of Justice: Social Media

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people in his Department with responsibility for social media are employed on a (a) full and (b) part-time basis.

Dr Phillip Lee: The department does not have any full-time or part-time staff who are solely focused on managing social media accounts. The Ministry of Justice (including its agencies the Legal Aid Agency, HM Courts and Tribunal Service, HM Prisons and Probation Service, Office of the Public Guardian and Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority) employ 11 full-time who have some responsibility for social media.

Prime Minister

Prime Minister: Correspondence

Justin Madders: To ask the Prime Minister, how many unsolicited items of correspondence she sent to members of the public between April and June 2017.

Mrs Theresa May: During this time, I wrote condolence letters to families who lost loved ones in the terrorist attacks which struck the country as well as letters to the first responders who reacted so heroically to these events.

Northern Ireland Government

Lady Hermon: To ask the Prime Minister, if she will chair round table talks to restore the Executive in Northern Ireland with the political parties of the Northern Ireland Assembly; and if she will make a statement.

Mrs Theresa May: I am closely engaged in efforts to restore devolved government in Northern Ireland. I am kept fully appraised by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, my right hon. Friend the Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (Mr Brokenshire) who is working with the parties and, as appropriate, the Irish Government in Belfast. I have had several recent discussions with the party leaders, building on meetings I had with all five main party leaders in Downing Street in the summer.

Ministry of Defence

Yemen: Military Intervention

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2017 to Question 8059, on Yemen: military intervention, of the 293 incidents logged as alleged international humanitarian law violations reportedly conducted by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen since March 2015, what proportion involved dynamic targeting.

Gavin Williamson: Holding answer received on 17 November 2017



I am withholding the information for the purpose of safeguarding national security and because its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice relations between the UK and other States.

Armed Forces

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many finance staff within (a) Navy, (b) Army and (c) Air Command (i) have (ii) are working towards and (iii) do not have a professional accountancy qualification.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Recording accountancy qualifications is not mandated, so data is only that which is recorded on the Ministry of Defence Human Resources system. The information requested, as at 30 June 2017, is given below: Single ServiceNavyNavyAirTotal Number Qualified Accountants202015Total Number Under Training~~5Do not have a professional accountancy qualification115320145In line with Defence Statistics policy, all figures have been rounded to the nearest 5. ~ represents less than 5. Number of staff is headcount.

Armed Forces: Officers

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the selection and nomination of visiting officers has been highlighted on the Commanding Officers Designate course; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Naval Service has a dedicated Royal Navy Royal Marines Welfare (RNRMW) team which includes individuals trained in specialist welfare work who carry out the role of Visiting Officer. Immediately following an incident the Naval Service Casualty Cell will inform the RNRMW team who will in turn nominate a Visiting Officer based on both work loading and location. This is considered a priority tasking. Commanding Officers are not, therefore, directly responsible for nominating Visiting Officers, although they are kept informed where appropriate. Commanding Officers are, however, made aware of the importance of the Visiting Officer function during the Designates Course to ensure they understand the process. The selection and training of Army Casualty Notification Officers and Casualty Visiting Officers is a constant and on-going process. Selection is a responsibility of the Chain of Command. Although not part of the Commanding Officers Designate Course formal syllabus, the importance of the selection and nomination of Visiting Officers is included in other forums such as the All Arms Adjutant Course. The RAF briefs designate Commanding Officers at the RAF Future Commanders Study Period held at the Defence Academy, Shrivenham. The role and selection of Visiting Officers is raised as one element of this briefing alongside the importance of making an intelligent and appropriate selection based upon the circumstances of each case.

Army

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether a review has been carried out to simplify into one document the policies, procedures and regulations in the Army for the provision of support for personnel under investigation by the armed forces.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The support and welfare of Army personnel is a priority at all times. The document: "Support To Serving Personnel and Veterans who are suspects in Service Justice System (SJS) Investigations" was distributed to the Army chain of command in August 2017 and sets out high level guidance and the framework of supporting guidance. This includes information on the background to the type of investigations undertaken, the welfare, legal and media advice available and the responsibility of the Commanding Officers throughout the processes.

Armed Forces: Officers

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department last made an assessment of the number of Casualty Notification/ Visiting Officers; and whether that assessment included (a) the number available for Reserve Forces and (b) scrutiny by Deputy Chief of Staff Brigade/ Formation HQ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The selection and training of Casualty Notification Officers and Casualty Visiting Officers is a constant and ongoing process as individuals move and are posted. Each Service is required to maintain a capability to meet their own requirements. The single Services have the ability to both flex and task individuals between different locations and if required due to remoteness or commitment, individuals may be tasked to support the other Services. Following the concept of whole force integration, no distinction is made between Regular and Reserve Forces. Scrutiny of the individual and the capability is vested at the garrison/station level.

Armed Forces Compensation Scheme

Melanie Onn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to publish the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme Quinquennial Review.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Ministry of Defence conducted a Quinquennial Review of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme. This was published in February 2017 and can be found at the following address:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-armed-forces-compensation-scheme-quinquennial-review

Trident

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the safety of the Trident nuclear weapons system; and if he will make a statement.

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons his Department is not planning to publish the annual reports of the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator.

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the latest reports of the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator will be made available for Parliamentary scrutiny.

Harriett Baldwin: The safety of the public, our submarine crews, the defence workforce and the protection of the environment remain the Department's priority. Overall, the Defence Nuclear Programme achieves the required standards of nuclear and radiological safety. Nuclear safety has not been compromised.The Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator Annual Assurance Reports for the periods 2015-16 and 2016-17 will not be published as it has been assessed to do so would impact national security. This does not prevent the effective management and independent assessment of the Defence Nuclear Programme, nor prevent its duty holders being held to account, but we cannot accept any compromise of our capabilities in the current security climate.

Nuclear Weapons: Scotland

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether expenditure for planned nuclear infrastructure projects at Faslane and Coulport will come out of the existing budget for Trident.

Harriett Baldwin: Planned nuclear infrastructure projects at Faslane and Coulport are funded separately from the budget for the Dreadnought programme.

Veterans: Care Homes

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will hold discussions with the Board of Combat Stress on its plans to end residential care for veterans at Audley Court, Newport, Shropshire.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Combat Stress’ contract with NHS England for the provision of places on a six week residential intensive programme for veterans living in England finishes on 31 March 2018. It is for Combat Stress to decide how they operate in the future. However, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) understands that Combat Stress has no plans to close Audley Court. We encourage Service personnel and veterans wishing to seek help with mental health problems to visit: www.gov.uk/mental-health-support-for-the-uk-armed-forces. Veterans can also call the 24-hour veterans’ mental health helpline, provided by Combat Stress, on 0800 138 1619. Information and advice on services is available through the MOD’s Veterans UK or the Veterans Gateway.

Trident

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether additional funds will be allocated to the Trident replacement programme in the 2017-18 financial year which have not already been budgeted for.

Harriett Baldwin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 November 2017 to Question 111415 to the hon. Member for Inverclyde (Ronnie Cowan).



111415 - WQnA extract on Trident Submarines
(Word Document, 12.73 KB)

Nuclear Weapons: Scotland

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what specific projects and programmes are scheduled to take place to expand nuclear infrastructure at Faslane and Coulport.

Harriett Baldwin: Three current projects to improve infrastructure are currently taking place: Faslane Nuclear Infrastructure Continuous Availability Project, Coulport Infrastructure Continuous Availability Project and the Nuclear Support Hub Project.

Military Bases: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will visit Palace Barracks in Holywood, North Down; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence intends to visit units in Northern Ireland in the near future.

Army: Training

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many battle groups were trained at British Army Training Unit Kenya in each year from 2010 to 2017.

Mark Lancaster: Details of the number of battlegroup exercises at the British Army Training Unit in Kenya by year are given below. YearNumber of Exercises2010Not available201152012520135201452015620165

Army: Training

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost of each of the British Army's overseas training centres was in each year from 2010 to 2017.

Mark Lancaster: Information relating to the costs of the British Army's three main overseas training centres is not held centrally in the format requested and will take time to collate. I will write to the hon. Member with the available information shortly.

Army: Training

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much has been disbursed from the public purse on infantry training in each year from 2010 to 2017.

Mark Lancaster: Information relating to the costs of infantry training is not held centrally in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportianate cost.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his policy is on a formal appeal process for decisions on early advances for universal credit.

Damian Hinds: Holding answer received on 11 October 2017



Advances are time sensitive because an advance payment meets the immediate need of the claimant. So there is no right of appeal to an independent tribunal against a refusal. We have an alternative process which enables a claimant to ask for a decision to be looked at again within the office, at pace. The most common grounds for a refusal of an advance payment are because the claimant already has available funds, for example: savings, earnings, redundancy payments or support from the claimant or partner’s parents, family or friends. This list is not exhaustive.

Social Security Benefits: Debts

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to assist households facing debt as a result of social security delays.

Damian Hinds: The policy intention is that claimants receive the first payment 5 weeks after their date of entitlement (6 weeks if waiting days are served). The assessment period runs for a full calendar month from the date of entitlement, and the UC pay date will be 7 calendar days after the end of the assessment period. This mirrors the world of work and allows for a 1 month period in which to gather information about a claimants’ earnings. Advances and budgeting support are available to support claimants during this period. Advances can provide up to 50% of a claimant’s indicative award straight away. Data published on 2 October 2017 shows that, in June 2017 81% of new Universal Credit households received their first payment in full and on time. Across the whole of Universal Credit 92% of all households received full payment on time. Our internal data shows that for those cases where full payment has not been made, around a sixth have not signed their Claimant Commitment or passed identity checks and the others have outstanding verification issues, e.g. housing, self-employed earnings and child-care costs.

Personal Independence Payment: West Yorkshire

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many personal independence payment applications from people with ME have been refused in West Yorkshire since 2013.

Sarah Newton: The Department does not record disabling conditions of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants at registration stage. Disabling conditions are recorded on the PIP Computer System only for those claimants who undergo a face to face or paper based assessment. Therefore we are unable to provide the number of refused PIP applications which were made by people with ME.

Personal Independence Payment

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what disability-specific training personal independence payment assessors receive to enable them to understand fluctuating conditions such as ME and epilepsy.

Sarah Newton: Health Professionals receive comprehensive training in disability analysis which includes a functional evaluation as to how medical conditions and the long-term medical treatment of those conditions affect an individual. All Health Professionals complete training on neurological conditions including epilepsy/ME during their initial training. They also practice several clinical scenarios involving epilepsy/ME as part of that initial training course. In addition to the introductory training and mentoring support, they also have access and can refer to clinical reports on epilepsy/ME which can be reviewed at any point before during or after an assessment has taken place.

Access to Work Programme: Equality

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department commissioned (a) localised and (b) regional research for its report Equality Analysis for the future of Access to Work, published in May 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah Newton: The Department did not commission localised or regional research for its report Equality Analysis for the future of Access to Work. The locality of recipients is not considered a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.

Social Security Benefits: Telephone Services

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 November 2017 to Question 110425, on social security benefits, for what reasons there was a difference between this Answer and the Answer of 13 September 2016 to Question 44894 to the hon. Member for Glasgow South West; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Hinds: The Department’s call data does not distinguish initial enquiry calls about a new claim to a social security benefit from other subsequent calls about new claims. The information held by the Department for all calls received by its new claims lines includes initial enquiries and many other subsequent calls about new claims.Consequently The Department cannot provide an estimate, or indeed any actuals, identifying initial claim calls only.For example,Customer A calls to enquire about making a claim (initial enquiry), She then submits a claim and follows it up with a call to enquire about payment (subsequent call). She then calls to correct information provided in the original claim (further subsequent call). The data does not distinguish between the first call and subsequent calls. The answer of 13 September 2016 explained that the information included calls ‘both enquiring about claiming benefit and making a claim to benefit’.

Work Capability Assessment

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2017 to Question 110670, on work capability assessment, when he plans to publish the document setting out his Department's recent work, its response to the consultation and its next steps.

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department plans to publish the Government's response to the Green Paper entitled Work, health and disability: improving lives, published on 31 October 2016.

Sarah Newton: In October 2016 we published Improving Lives: the Work, Health and Disability Green Paper, setting out the Government’s approach to work and health and inviting views on a ten-year strategy for reform. We engaged with a wide range of stakeholders and others with an interest during the Green Paper consultation period and received around 6,000 responses. We are working towards a publication later this year, which will provide an update on the work we have been doing since the Green Paper, respond to the consultation, and set out our next steps.

Access to Work Programme: Publicity

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of, and promote, the Access to Work programme.

Sarah Newton: Our approach has primarily been to work with Remploy and other partners and charities, using their effective networks and channels to reach potential recipients and raise awareness. We have also worked extensively to promote the Access to Work Scheme via Disability Confident with stakeholders and partners such as the impairment specific charities and health practitioners. In addition we have made marketing funding available to produce materials and secure presences at appropriate conferences and events.

European Agency for Safety and Health At Work

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the UK plans to seek observer status at the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work after the UK has left the EU.

Sarah Newton: No decisions have yet been made on our future relationship with the EU's agencies and bodies after leaving the EU. We are seeking a deep and special partnership with the European Union. Our relationship with the European Union's agencies and bodies, including the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, will be evaluated on this basis upon exit

Personal Independence Payment: Garston and Halewood

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many former claimants of disability living allowance in Garston and Halewood constituency who have been unsuccessful in their claim for personal independence payments have been waiting more than (a) six weeks, (b) three months and (c) six months for their appeal to be heard.

Sarah Newton: The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Personal Independence Payment: Garston and Halewood

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement of 2 November 2017, HCWS218, on social security, how many previously unsuccessful personal independence payment (PIP) claimants from Garston and Halewood constituency are now eligible for PIP under the updated PIP guidelines.

Sarah Newton: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 November 2017 to Question UIN111728. ‘The Department estimates that approximately 10,000 claimants will benefit from this change in 2022/23. However, the Department cannot reliably apply this methodology retrospectively to past disallowances.’ The Department is not able to reliably estimate the number of past disallowances who would benefit from this change. Therefore it is not possible to estimate how many previously unsuccessful claims from Garston and Halewood are now eligible.

Maternity Allowance and Maternity Pay

Sir Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many women were in receipt of statutory maternity pay and maternity allowance in each of the last five years.

Sir Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost of statutory maternity pay and maternity allowance has been to the public purse in each of the last five years.

Caroline Dinenage: Answers to both the cost and how many women were in receipt of statutory maternity pay and maternity allowance in each of the last five years can be found in the “Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2017”. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2017 For what the cost of statutory maternity pay and maternity allowance has been to the public purse in each of the last five years please refer to Table 1a, Expenditure by benefit (nominal terms) or Table 1b, Expenditure by benefit (real terms prices). For how many women were in receipt of statutory maternity pay and maternity allowance in each of the last five years please refer to Table 1c, Caseloads by benefits.

Department for Work and Pensions: Social Media

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an estimate of its advertising spending across social media platforms in the UK in each of the last five years.

Caroline Dinenage: Where we have contracts specifically for Social Media - 2017 - £39K2016 - £113K2015 - £72K2014 - £3K2013 - £117 In addition we hold a contract for Media Buying where Social Media may be used as part of a wider campaign. We are not able to disaggregate Social Media spend from historical data but we currently estimate to spend around £250k this year.

Universal Credit: Self-employed

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether a self-employed claimant with fluctuating earnings, who earns more than the minimum income floor annually, receives less universal credit than an employed counterpart with the same level of annual earnings.

Damian Hinds: A self employed person earning above the Minimum Income Floor but with fluctuating earnings, will receive the same amount of Universal Credit as a person with the same fluctuating earnings from employment.

Personal Independence Payment: Feltham and Heston

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many initially unsuccessful Personal Independent Payment (PIP) claimants from Feltham and Heston are now eligible for PIP under the updated PIP guidelines.

Sarah Newton: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 November 2017 to Question UIN111728. The department is not able to reliably estimate the number of past disallowances who would benefit from this change. Therefore it is not possible to estimate how many initially unsuccessful claimants from Feltham and Heston are now eligible

Personal Independence Payment

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants (a) with Parkinson's disease and (b) in total are in the no review category for personal independence payments.

Sarah Newton: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I previously gave on 15 November 2017 to Question UIN 111959

Revenue and Customs

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answers of 12 October and 13 November 2017 to Questions 106562 and 111438, for what reasons his Department no longer has a Later, Missing and Incorrect joint initiative.

Damian Hinds: DWP does not have a Late Missing & Incorrect (LMI) team / project but we jointly fund an HMRC initiative. The remit of this initiative is for HMRC to identify those cases where enhanced employer education and support will improve the timeliness and quality of RTI submissions from employers.

Jobcentres: Christmas

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the daily opening times will be of (a) the universal credit helpline and (b) Jobcentre Plus offices during the period of the Christmas parliamentary recess.

Damian Hinds: The customer opening times for the Universal Credit helpline and Jobcentre Plus offices over the Christmas parliamentary recess period are in the table below. For all days that offices are open normal customer opening times apply – this is 8am to 6pm for the Universal Credit helpline and 9am to 5pm for Jobcentre Plus offices (10am to 5pm on a Wednesday).   Jobcentre Plus Offices in England and WalesJobcentre Plus Offices in ScotlandUniversal Credit helpline Friday 22 December9am to 5pm9am to 5pm8am to 6pmMonday 25 DecemberClosedClosedClosedTuesday 26 DecemberClosedClosedClosedWednesday 27 DecemberClosed10am to 5pmEngland and Wales Closed (i) Scotland 8am to 6pmThursday 28 December9am to 5pm9am to 5pm8am to 6pm  Friday 29 December9am to 5pm9am to 5pm8am to 6pmMonday 1 JanuaryClosedClosedClosedTuesday 2 January9am to 5pmClosedEngland and Wales 8am to 6pm Scotland Closed (ii)Wednesday 3 January10am to 5pm10am to 5pm8am to 6pmThursday 4 January9am to 5pm9am to 5pm8am to 6pmFriday 5 January9am to 5pm9am to 5pm8am to 6pm Notes(i) Offices in England and Wales are closed on Wednesday 27 December 2017. However, our offices and phone lines in Scotland will be open on Wednesday 27 December 2017 for customers in Scotland and to help with any missing or urgent payment enquiries only from those customers in England and Wales. (ii) Offices in Scotland are closed on Tuesday 2 January 2018. However, our offices and phone lines in England and Wales will be open on Tuesday 2 January 2018 for customers in England and Wales and to help with any missing or urgent payment enquiries only from those customers in Scotland.

Means-tested Benefits

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he takes to provide clear, accessible advice on earnings allowances to people claiming means-tested benefits carers allowance and income support.

Damian Hinds: People who claim and are entitled to receive Income Support (IS) are issued with an automated Assessment form. This is accompanied by an information sheet ‘How your Income Support was worked out’, which explains the amount of money the law says the person needs to live on based on the information they have provided and details adjustments made for money they have coming in. Where money coming in is earnings, the disregard that is applied is included in the information provided. IS claimants who are carers, receive the maximum earnings disregard of up to £20 per week. Carers are exempt from the remunerative work rule that restricts IS to claimants working 16 hours a week or more, or in the case of their partner, 24 hours or more. A claimant can also request an explanation of how their IS is worked out at any time during their claim. When such a request is received an automated assessment form is issued providing a full explanation of their award. At the claimant’s request, information is provided in alternative formats, including braille, large print and audio. General information is also available from the Government’s website: www.gov.uk. Although Carer’s Allowance (CA) does have an earnings condition of entitlement, CA is not a means tested benefit. The Government website http://www.gov.uk informs customers of the eligibility criteria to claims CA and also states that you may be able to claim CA if ‘you earn no more than £116 a week after tax and some expenses – these will be assessed when you apply.’ It is also clear that change of circumstances must be reported if, for example, the customer starts earning more than £116 a week. Change of circumstances can be reported to the Carers Allowance Unit on line. There are two versions of the CA claim form DS700; a paper version and an on-line digital claim form and both versions give information on the earnings limit and claimant responsibilities around reporting change of circumstances. When a customer is awarded CA, the award notification informs the customer about reporting a change of circumstances to the CA Unit. It details a list of all change of circumstances that need to be reported, one of which is if their earnings change/increase.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Animal Welfare: Sentencing

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the process will be for animal welfare charities to be consulted on the draft legislation to increase the maximum animal cruelty sentence to five years imprisonment.

George Eustice: As announced on 30 September, draft legislation to increase the maximum penalty for animal cruelty to five years will be published for consultation around the turn of the year. We will welcome comments from animal welfare charities who have campaigned for this change.

Animal Welfare: Sentencing

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the timetable is for the drafting of the legislative proposals on increasing the maximum sentence for animal cruelty to five years imprisonment; and whether the Government plans to consult with animal welfare organisations on those proposals.

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to consult animal welfare charities on the proposed increase in the maximum animal cruelty sentence to five years' imprisonment.

George Eustice: As announced on 30 September, draft legislation to increase the maximum penalty for animal cruelty to five years will be published for consultation around the turn of the year. We will welcome comments from animal welfare charities who have campaigned for this change.

Primates: Pets

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to include a review of the Code of Practice for the Welfare of Privately Kept Non-Human Primates in his Department's review of statutory animal welfare codes.

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2017 to Question 108576, what guidance on primates his Department provides to local authorities to assist them to reflect the illegality of keeping primates in the same sort of environment as one would keep a domesticated pet animal in their policies for licensing businesses selling pets.

George Eustice: There is no date set for the review of the Code of Practice for the Welfare of Privately Kept Non-human Primates (the primate code). The welfare codes for cats, dogs and horses are currently being reviewed because they are in greater need of being updated. The primate code is available for local authorities to use in any situations where they have concerns about the welfare of such animals.

Primates: Pets

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to prohibit the sale and keeping of primates as pets; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 21 November 2017.The correct answer should have been:

Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is already against the law to keep primates in the same sort of environment you would keep a domesticated pet animal. In addition, the statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Privately Kept Non-human Primates provides keepers with advice on how to meet the welfare needs of their animals, as required under the 2006 Act. Defra is working closely with the Pet Advertising Advisory Group to apply minimum standards to online pet advertising on five of the main websites. The standards include a requirement to remove any adverts for primates.In the meantime, if anyone has any concerns about the welfare of a particular primate they should report it to the relevant local authority who have powers to investigate such matters, or to the RSPCA who can also investigate.

George Eustice: Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is already against the law to keep primates in the same sort of environment you would keep a domesticated pet animal. In addition, the statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Privately Kept Non-human Primates provides keepers with advice on how to meet the welfare needs of their animals, as required under the 2006 Act. Defra is working closely with the Pet Advertising Advisory Group to apply minimum standards to online pet advertising on five of the main websites. The standards include a requirement to remove any adverts for primates.In the meantime, if anyone has any concerns about the welfare of a particular primate they should report it to the relevant local authority who have powers to investigate such matters, or to the RSPCA who can also investigate.

Animal Welfare: Convictions

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many animal cruelty offences and convictions there have been in Romford in each year since 2010.

George Eustice: The number of offenders found guilty of offences under Sections 4 to 8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, in the Metropolitan Police Force area, from 2010 to 2016, can be viewed in the table.  Force / Local Justice Area (4)201020112012Proceeded againstFound guiltyProceeded againstFound guiltyProceeded againstFound guiltyMetropolitan976712210210779of which   Havering4376--North East London----75 2013201420152016Proceeded againstFound guiltyProceeded againstFound guiltyProceeded againstFound guiltyProceeded againstFound guilty11282634770546246--------1513766364   '-' = Nil(1) Defined as SS4-8 Animal Welfare Act 2006.(2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.(3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.(4) Havering Local Justice Area, which included Romford, merged into North East London Local Justice Area from 1 January 2012. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice.Ref: PQ 113043

Business: Waste Disposal

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations his Department has received relating to Environment Agency decisions on definition of waste panel assessments; and what responses have been made to those representations.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Defra and the Environment Agency have received a number of representations on Environment Agency decisions on definition of waste panel assessments. Responses are tailored to individual cases.

Business: Waste Disposal

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to remove barriers to a more resource-efficient economy; what evidence there is that businesses are using the online tool for self-assessment for definition of waste; whether the closure of the Definition of Waste panel has impacted investment in the sector; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: As part of our planning for the UK’s exit from the EU we are developing a 25 Year Environment Plan and a renewed strategy on resources and waste. Officials are developing the plans for engagement with businesses, and views on the key barriers to resource efficiency and ideas for addressing these will be welcome. The online IsItWaste tool for self-assessment for the definition of waste currently has 981 assessments registered. This is cumulative since 2013. It would not include any self-assessments later deleted by the customer. The Environment Agency does not have information or data about the impact on investment in the waste sector from the temporary closure of the Definition of Waste panel.

Cats and Dogs: Sales

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to prohibit the third party sale of puppies and kittens.

George Eustice: We have no plans for a ban on third party sellers. We are taking steps to ensure more robust licensing of pet sellers. To that end, new regulations on animal activity licensing will set statutory minimum welfare standards for all commercial pet sellers in England that the local authority must apply when considering whether to issue a licence.

Animal Welfare: Sentencing

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what timetable the Government has set for introducing legislation to increase the maximum sentence for animal cruelty offences to five years' imprisonment.

George Eustice: As announced on 30 September, a bill to increase the maximum penalty for animal cruelty offences to five years imprisonment will be published for consultation around the turn of the year. We will welcome comments from animal welfare charities who have campaigned for this change.

Animal Welfare: South East Cornwall

Mrs Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many animal cruelty (a) offences and (b) convictions have taken place in South East Cornwall constituency.

George Eustice: The number of offenders found guilty of offences under Sections 4 to 8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, in the Devon and Cornwall Police Force area, from 2012 to 2016, can be viewed in the table Force / Local Justice Area20122013201420152016Proceeded againstFound guiltyProceeded againstFound guiltyProceeded againstFound guiltyProceeded againstFound guiltyProceeded againstFound guiltyDevon and Cornwall40252918221524112516of which Cornwall Local Justice area (4)15121489810987 (1) Defined as SS4-8 Animal Welfare Act 2006(2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe(3) .Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.(4) East Cornwall Local Justice Area, which included South East Cornwall constituency merged into Cornwall Local Justice Area from 1 January 2012Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice.

Local Air Quality Management

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which local authorities had air quality management areas (AQMA) as of July 2017; what the name and description is of each AQMA; when each AQMA was declared and amended; and for what pollutant that AQMA has been declared.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: As of July this year, 278 local authorities (71% of those in the UK) had one or more air quality management areas (AQMAs) declared. Details of the current AQMAs declared by local authorities, including their names, description, when they were declared and amended and the relevant pollutant for which they were declared are provided on the UK-AIR website: https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/aqma/list.

Environment Protection

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to create an environmental protection body with prosecutorial authority and independence from the Government; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: On 12 November the Secretary of State set out plans to consult on a new, independent and statutory body to hold the Government to account for upholding environmental standards after we leave the European Union. We will consult as widely as possible on the nature and detailed functions of the new body.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

David Warburton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the benefits of using a risk-based approach to the control of bovine tuberculosis after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: The Government’s strategy to eradicate bovine TB in England is based on a risk-based approach. We remain committed to rigorous implementation of the Strategy, while continually assessing the extent to which leaving the EU may provide additional opportunities.

Water: EU Law

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made in improving the status of surface and groundwater bodies under the Water Framework Directive.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Management of the water environment is a devolved matter. The information provided below is for England. We have seen great improvements in water quality over the last 25 years. Species such as salmon, sea trout and otter, common in many English rivers today, were then a very rare sight. We have enhanced over 1400 miles of surface water towards our target of nearly 5000 miles by 2021. Groundwater too is improving, with a predicted 56% of groundwater bodies reaching good chemical status and 75% good quantitative status by 2021. Our 2015 River Basin Management Plans confirm over £3 billion investment in the water environment over six years, leading to at least 680 improved surface water bodies in England, with increased fish populations and reduced pollution, by 2021.

Home Office

Offensive Weapons

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) guns and (b) other weapons have been detected at ports and airports in the UK in each of the last five years.

Brandon Lewis: (a)The table below shows the number of guns seized by Border Force from 2012-13 to 2016-17.12 - 1313 - 1414 - 1515 - 1616 - 17124983699284522996312 The firearms definition used by for Border Force seizure statistical purposes has changed during the last 5 years. The firearms definition for 2012-13 includes ammunition, fireworks, and explosive material. The firearms definition for 2013/14 excludes ammunition, but includes fireworks and explosives material. The firearm definition used for 2014/15 onwards excludes ammunition, fireworks and explosive material.(b)The table below shows the number of offensive weapons seized by Border Force from 2012-13 to 2016-17.12 - 1313 - 1414 - 1515 - 1616 - 17603754196735893110935The figures quoted are management information, which is subject to internal quality checks and may be subject to change.

Refugees: Children

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children have arrived in the UK under the Dubs amendment to date.

Brandon Lewis: In 2016, we transferred over 900 unaccompanied children to the UK from Europe, including more than 750 from France. Over 200 of these children met the criteria for section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016.We are fully committed to delivering our commitment to transfer the specified number of 480 children under section 67 and are working very closely with Member States, as well as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and NGO partners to identify and transfer children to the UK in line with each individual Member State’s national laws.We have secondees in Greece and Italy working on transfers of unaccompanied children to the UK under both the Dublin III Regulation and section 67. More eligible children are expected to be transferred from Europe in due course.

Marriage Certificates

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to introduce legislation to amend marriage certificates to include mothers' names.

Brandon Lewis: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to the Hon. Member for Hampstead and Kilburn on 2 December 2016, UIN 55490.

Refugees: English Language

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that refugees have access to English language classes after their arrive in the UK.

Brandon Lewis: The Government is committed to ensuring that all refugees in the UK have access to English language courses. For refugees resettled in the UK under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme and the Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme the Government has provided additional funding which can be accessed by local authorities for these refugees only. Those who make their own way to the UK to claim asylum and are granted refugee status have access to English language courses without having to meet the normal qualifying requirement of three years ordinary residence. For refugees receiving work related benefits courses are free.

Animal Experiments: Cosmetics

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to encourage other countries to ban cosmetics animal testing and the sale of animal-tested cosmetics.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The testing of cosmetics and their ingredients on animals in the UK has been banned since 1998 and the UK has been instrumental in introducing this ban across the European Union and beyond.The Home Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office continues to support China to bring an end to unnecessary cosmetics testing on animals, advising on a science based approach for non-animal alternative human safety testing.

Grenfell Tower: Fires

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many meetings have been held between Ministers and civil servants of her Department and representatives from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea on the introduction of the discretionary 12 months leave to remain visa for survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire; when such meetings took place; who attended such meetings; and if she will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: Home Office Ministers and officials responsible for the dedicated immigration policy for Grenfell survivors have regularly engaged with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council. Home Office officials based in the Community Assistance Centre have frequent contact with the Council’s keyworkers to provide assistance on immigration matters. Nick Hurd MP, the Minister for Policing and Fire and Grenfell Victims and Home Office officials attend the cross-Whitehall Grenfell meeting, which is also attended by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The Home Office has also provided a bespoke question and answer document for the Council’s keyworkers to ensure that they have the right tools in place when speaking to Grenfell survivors about the dedicated immigration policy.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to answer Question 6216, tabled on 19 July 2017.

Brandon Lewis: I am sorry but the data required to answer the question is not recorded in a way that can be reported on accurately. The Home Office publishes figures on the outcome of asylum claims made within 6 months as part of its Transparency Agenda. The latest data on decisions within 6 months can be found on Asy 01 at Asylum transparency data: February 2017 - GOV.UK

Immigrants: Detainees

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce the number of people who are detained for immigration purposes.

Brandon Lewis: The Home Office is clear that in tackling immigration abuse we will use alternatives to immigration detention wherever possible. This includes community engagement by our immigration enforcement teams, and the development of the compliant environment to prevent access by illegal migrants to work, services and benefits, designed to encourage compliance and maximise voluntary returns; and enforcing return through same-day removals. Whilst detention will continue to be used to enforce returns where necessary, depriving someone of their liberty will always be subject to careful consideration and will take account of individual circumstances. Our aim is to focus on developing an immigration enforcement system founded upon compliance and less reliant upon detention. Consequently, we are reducing the size of the immigration detention estate, with the Home Office transferring The Verne immigration removal centre to Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service from January 2018.

Animal Experiments: Cosmetics

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent representations her Department has (a) received on and (b) made to the United Nations on animal testing for cosmetic products.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The Home Office is the department responsible for the regulation of the use of animals in science. The Department has made no representation to, nor received any representation from, the United Nations on animal testing for cosmetic products.

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with Staffordshire's Police and Crime Commissioner on future governance arrangements for Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Police and Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire has considered options for joint police and fire governance and consulted locally on a proposal to take on responsibility for the governance of fire and rescue in the area, under the Policing and Crime Act (2017) provisions. On 3 October, he submitted a written proposal to the Home Secretary for consideration.

Counter-terrorism

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of security of open spaces in cities against terrorist attacks using vehicles.

Mr Ben  Wallace: Following recent attacks in Europe and the UK, National Counter Terrorism Policing continues to review the security position of crowded places, open spaces and events.This has led to the deployment of appropriate security measures including hostile vehicle mitigation on a number of bridges and in some town centres, as well as a range of operational police deployments.The police plan for events in open spaces, such as upcoming Christmas markets, is undertaken against the current threat level which is SEVERE - an attack is highly likely. Proportionate security measures are developed to protect the public in conjunction with the event operators and other responsible bodies.

Immigrants: Data Protection

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on data protection rights for immigrants; and if she will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: The provisions in the Data Protection Bill will ensure that while people’s rights relating to data are protected, day to day operations relating to immigration controls are not obstructed and individual rights are balanced against the wider interests of society.

Charles Caulfield

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations the Government is making to the US Administration on the detention and extradition of Charlie Caulfield; and if she will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: As a matter of long standing policy and practice, the UK will neither confirm nor deny whether an extradition request has been made or received until such time as a person is arrested in relation to a request.

Staffordshire Police

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many warranted officers there were in Staffordshire Police on 1 January in (a) 2011, (b) 2012, (c) 2013, (d) 2014, (e) 2015, (f) 2016 and (g) 2017.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on police workforce by each police force in England and Wales on a bi-annual basis. These data are published in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletins, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales-31-march-2017

Merseyside Police

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she will take to ensure Merseyside Police have adequate funding to tackle recent increases in gun crime, following the meeting with the Minister of State for Security on 18 July 2017.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The 2015 Spending Review protected police funding in real terms, assuming Police and Crime Commissioners maximise precept. Since then, police forces have received broadly flat cash direct resource funding and we are increasing investment in transformation and improved communications and technology capabilities. As a result, Merseyside police force received £500,000 more in 2017/18 compared with 2015/16. However, the Government recognises that the police have faced significant challenges this year. We have, therefore, set in hand a programme of engagement to understand better the demands they face, and how these can best be managed. As part of this, the Minister for Policing and Fire Minister has spoken to or visited every police force in England and Wales, including Merseyside.We are in regular discussion with police forces and the National Ballistics Intelligence Service to monitor gun crime levels. The ONS statistics for the year ending June 2017, show that firearms offences are 31% lower than they were a decade ago, though there has been an increase nationally in recent years. The opposite has been the case in Merseyside in recent years, with firearms offences falling.We continue to work closely with law enforcement partners to ensure that we have the right intelligence, detection and enforcement capabilities internationally, at the UK border and within the UK. For example, firearms controls have been strengthened through the Policing and Crime Act 2017 and a multi-agency firearms unit has been established. On 5th September this unit was awarded £2.4m of Police Transformation Funding. We are also consulting on antique firearms, seeking views on which types of old firearm remain safe to be held without controls, and which should become subject to licensing to stop them falling into criminal hands.Complementary to this work at the national level, the Home Office supports the local and regional response to crime where appropriate, and discussions are ongoing about the support available for Merseyside. The Home Secretary’s letter to you (Maria Eagle MP) of 5th September, provides further detail on this. I am in regular contact with the Chief Constable of Merseyside on the issue and will continue to explore further support to deal with the levels of Gun Crime in the City.

Terrorism

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the procedure is for a person to make an appeal against allegations made under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (’the Act’) conferred upon the Secretary of State power to make a control order against an individual for purposes connected with protecting the public from a risk of terrorism. Section 10 provided for the subject of a control order to appeal against its renewal, the modification of its obligations, or the refusal of an application from the subject for the control order to be revoked or any of its obligations to be modified. Section 11 provided for an individual to appeal on a question of law any judgment in proceedings under the Act. While the Act was repealed in January 2012, section 13(8) allows for the continuation of any appeal brought under the Act after its repeal. The Act was replaced by the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011 (TPIM Act 2011). Section 16 of the TPIM Act provides for appeals against TPIMs.

European Police College

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the UK plans to seek formal participation in the European Policing College after the UK has left the EU.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government recently set out its proposals for an ambitious strategic agreement with the EU that provides a comprehensive framework for our future security, law enforcement and criminal justice cooperation that delivers the capabilities our operational partners need to keep our people safe. Our proposals are set out in “Security, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice – a future partnership paper” which was published on 18 September, available on the gov.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/security-law-enforcement-and-criminal-justice-a-future-partnership-paper.

Slavery

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to respond to the report entitled Stolen Freedom, published in October 2017 by Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary.

Mr Nick Hurd: The government expects Chief Constables (individually and through the National Police Chiefs Council) and PCCs to take HMICFRS inspection findings very seriously and to implement any recommendations made. The report on “Stolen Freedoms” did not make any recommendations for the government to take forward.

Immigration

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department intends to publish a White Paper on immigration.

Brandon Lewis: We are considering the options for our future immigration system very carefully and we will be setting out initial proposals for our future immigration arrangements in due course.

Seasonal Agricultural Workers' Scheme

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will introduce a trial seasonal agricultural workers scheme in 2018.

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether seasonal workers are included in the Government's target to reduce migration.

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that rural businesses are able to recruit the workers they require from countries within the EU and elsewhere.

Brandon Lewis: For the time being, the United Kingdom remains a part of the European Union and the latest labour market statistics continue to show an increased number of EU citizens entering into the UK labour force. However, the Government has committed to keeping the position under review and we will continue to engage with the agricultural sector.The Government has commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to assess the impact of leaving the EU and the subsequent needs of the UK economy, including the rural economy. We will outline our future immigration proposals in due course.Net migration includes all persons coming to the UK for 12 months or longer.

Psychiatry: Migrant Workers

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether NHS (a) trusts or (b) clinical commissioning groups are responsible for paying the International Skills Charge when employing psychiatrists who do not hold a PhD and are on a Tier 2 visa.

Brandon Lewis: I refer the Hon Lady to the answer that I gave to the question from the Hon Member for Worsley and Eccles South on 25 July, 5991.

Asylum: Housing

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what processes her Department has in place to ensure that G4S accommodation for asylum seekers is fit for purpose.

Brandon Lewis: Accommodation providers are required to provide safe, habitable, fit for purpose and correctly equipped accommodation that complies with the Decent Homes Standard in addition to standards outlined in relevant national or local housing legislation.The contract requires Providers to visit and inspect each property every month and UKVI inspects a significant proportion of properties each year to ensure standards are being met. Where asylum accommodation is found to be falling short of the required standards UKVI has procedures in place to inspect, investigate and quickly resolve when specific information is received and a contract management regime to monitor supplier performance and take measures where appropriate.

Counter-terrorism: Databases

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 October 2017 to Question 105696, on what system or record allegations made under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 are held.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The information on which a decision would have been made by the Secretary of State for the Home Department to impose a control order under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 would be held on the systems of the relevant government departments and agencies. Information regarding each control order case are detailed in the open judgements, which are available online. The 2005 Act was repealed and the control order system was replaced by the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act in 2011.

Firearms

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been made of the number of illegally held firearms in the UK.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS) and wider law enforcement regularly assess the volume of illegal firearms in the UK. NABIS produce quarterly reports on the threat, however, their assessment is continuous and key information is shared amongst law enforcement on a real time basis. This information is operationally sensitive and not suitable for release. We are continuing to make real the Strategic Defence and Security Review commitment to, “…choke off the supply and availability of illegal firearms to prevent their use by criminal or terrorist groups in the UK”. This includes ensuring we have the right intelligence, detection and enforcement capabilities and policies, internationally, at the UK border, and within the UK. To support this a multi-agency firearms unit has also been established with £2.4m of Police Transformation Funding.

France: Asylum

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with the French Human Rights Ombudsman on the treatment of unaccompanied minors in France.

Brandon Lewis: The UK is working very closely with France and other EU Member States in respect of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. Children in France are the responsibility of the French government, and robust safeguarding processes are in place for children to enter into and be supported by the French care system.We are not currently working with the French Human Rights Ombudsman but the UK has regular engagement at ministerial and senior official level with the French authorities more broadly. We have a strong track record of cooperating with France to manage the situation in Calais and to protect our shared border. We supported the humanitarian operation to clear the Calais migrant camp in October 2016, which involved the transfer of more than 750 children to the UK and funding to help provide migrants in Calais – including minors – with suitable facilities elsewhere in France.In addition to this, our security and law enforcement teams have worked closely together to tackle organised criminal gangs operating in the region wishing to exploit vulnerable children. We welcome the French Government’s recent decision to deploy more police to the region and to continue to provide alternative accommodation for migrants elsewhere in France.

Offenders

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the detection rate for each offence group recorded by the Police has been in each of the last five years.

Mr Nick Hurd: In April 2013, the Home Office introduced the new outcomes framework, replacing ‘detections’. This new framework provides greater transparency on how all crimes recorded by the police are dealt with. The previous detections framework gave a partial picture of the work police do to investigate and resolve crime.Table 2.2 of the annual publication “Crime Outcomes in England and Wales, year ending March 2017” provides data on outcomes for crimes in that year by offence group and outcome type. These outcomes cover all the possible actions the police could take under the old detections framework, as well as the additional outcomes. These tables, and data for earlier years, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/crime-outcomes-in-england-and-wales-statistics

Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she will complete her Department's response to the Scrap Metal Dealers Act Review; and if she will place a copy in the Library when it is completed.

Victoria Atkins: The Home Office has conducted the review of the Scrap Metal Dealers 2013 Act to assess whether it has met its intended objectives and whether it should be retained or repealed. A report of the findings will be published later this year and a copy will be placed in the Library.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to add the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to the UK's list of proscribed organisations.

Mr Ben  Wallace: Whilst we keep the list of proscribed groups under review, we do not routinely comment on whether an organisation is or is not under consideration for proscription.

Crime

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of police pursuit strategies across England and Wales in reducing moped, motorbike and off-road bike-related crimes and anti-social behaviour.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, why statistics on motorcycle, off-road bike and moped-related crimes and anti-social behaviour are not centrally kept.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office is currently reviewing the law and guidance surrounding police pursuits and response driving, including whether current arrangements need to be changed to ensure that officers who engage in pursuit have the right legal protections. We will finish the review early next year. The statutory basis for data collection, the Annual Data Requirement (ADR) process, is set by the Police Act 1996. This process works closely with the policy and operational colleagues, other government departments, National Policing Leads and other key police stakeholders to ensure that routine statistical data required on police forces remains proportionate and justified and eliminates unnecessary burdens. This ensures a proper balance between the accountability and efficiency of police operations.

Police: Recruitment

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will increase (a) funding for and (b) the number of police officers.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government has protected police spending since 2015. Since then, Po-lice and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) have received broadly flat cash direct resource funding and we are increasing investment in transformation and improved communications and technology capabilities.We know that crime is changing, and we are sensitive to current pressures on policing. That is why I am undertaking a programme of engagement with the sector to understand the impact of changing demands, and to hear how the police are managing this. That includes what more can be done to improve productivity and efficiency, reduce bureaucracy, and make prudent use of financial reserves.Decisions about the allocation of police resources and deployment of officers are for Chief Constables and democratically accountable PCCs. They are responsible for ensuring the needs of the local community are met.

Domestic Violence

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of domestic violence related incidents that were (a) reported to the police, (b) detected and (c) prosecuted in each (i) London Borough and (ii) region or nation of the UK in each of the three full years for which figures are available.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Office for National Statistics publishes a cross-governmental report on domestic abuse statistics in England and Wales. This report includes the number of domestic abuse incidents and crimes recorded by the police by police force area level. Data are not available at the London Borough level or for nations other than England and Wales. The first of these publications, ‘Domestic abuse in England and Wales’ year ending March 2016’, was published in December 2016 and can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/domesticabuseinenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2016

Asylum: Children

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what financial assistance her Department provides to local authorities to support (a) unaccompanied asylum seeking children and (b) looked after children (LAC) in the care of the authority.

Brandon Lewis: The Home Office provides funding to all local authorities who look after unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC). The national rate is £41,610 per annum for under 16s and £33,215 per annum for 16 and 17 year olds. We also provide funding for former unaccompanied asylum seeking who turn 18 need leaving care support. This equates to £200 a week. These rates were increased significantly in July 2016 by 20%, 28% and 33% respectively. The current rates are based on a detailed analysis of financial information send to the Home Office by local authorities about their costs of caring for unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children. In August 2017 a review of funding for UASC was launched and all local authorities who currently look after unaccompanied children have been invited to submit evidence. Funding for children’s services, including looked after children services, is non-ring-fenced and part of the wider local government finance settlement to give local authorities the flexibility to focus on locally determined priorities. It is for local authorities to determine how to spend their non-ring fenced income on the services they provide, including services for looked after children. They do so taking account local need, priorities, and of course their statutory responsibilities.

British Nationals Abroad: Islamic State

Mr William Wragg: What steps she is taking to identify, and prosecute people who return to the UK from fighting for Daesh in Syria.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The Government has been consistently clear; everyone who returns from taking part in the conflict in Syria or Iraq will be investigated by the police to determine if they have committed criminal offences. Where there is a case to answer those individuals will be prosecuted.We are working with our international partners, bilaterally and via the UN, to improve the sharing of information to ensure those responsible for crimes can be brought to justice.

Cybercrime

Gerald Jones: What discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the effect of recent cyber-attacks on critical national infrastructure.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The security of certain UK organisations, including the CNI, is of utmost importance. The Government is working with industry to provide advice and expertise on the management of their risk. Through the National Cyber Security Programme, we have invested through Lead Departments, the Intelligence Agencies and regulators to better understand cyber risk, share threat information, improve the security of the CNI and exercise together to be prepared for incidents. This will continue.

Migrant Workers

Gordon Henderson: What steps she is taking to ensure that businesses have access to temporary non-UK EU workers after the UK leaves the EU.

Brandon Lewis: The Government is considering options for our future immigration system very carefully. Our decisions will be based on evidence and engagement with stakeholders. After we leave the EU, we will want to control immigration from the EU whilst continuing to attract the brightest and best to work or study in Britain. We will ensure that businesses and communities have the opportunity to contribute their views before any final decisions are made.

Counter-terrorism

Tracy Brabin: Whether her Department plans to review the effectiveness of the Prevent strategy.

Victoria Atkins: The Prevent Programme is fundamentally about safeguarding and supporting vulnerable individuals to stop them from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. In June, the Prime Minister outlined the Government’s commitment to review the UK’s counter-terrorism strategy (CONTEST), drawing on lessons learned from the recent attacks earlier this year. As the threat we face from terrorism becomes more complex, our strategy needs to evolve with it. The Prevent Strategy is being assessed as part of this review.

Refugees: Syria

Victoria Prentis: What progress the Government has made on placing vulnerable Syrian refugee families in the UK.

Brandon Lewis: It is important that we focus our support on the most vulnerable refugees in the region fleeing the atrocities in Syria, whatever their nationality. Latest statistics published on 24 August confirm that a total of 8,535 people have been resettled under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme since it began, 4,369 of which arrived in 2016. We will continue to work closely with local authorities and devolved administrations to ensure we meet our commitment.

Seasonal Agricultural Workers' Scheme

David Warburton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department,  if she will introduce a seasonal agricultural workers scheme once the UK has left the EU.

Brandon Lewis: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Dundee West on 5 July 2017, UIN 1283.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Social Media

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many people in his Department with responsibility for social media are employed on an (a) full and (b) part-time basis.

Guto Bebb: All five members of the Wales Office communications team (four full-time and one part-time) work with social media.

HM Treasury

Welfare Tax Credits: Vale of Clwyd

Chris Ruane: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in the Vale of Clwyd received (a) working tax credits and (b) child tax credits in each of the last five years.

Elizabeth Truss: The table below contains estimates of the number of claimants of working tax credits and child tax credits in the Vale of Clwyd.   ThousandsYearWTC only ClaimantsCTC only ClaimantsCTC & WTC Claimants2016-17*0.52.92.32015-160.72.92.32014-150.83.12.32013-140.83.12.32012-130.83.22.4Note:The figures above show claimants of WTC or CTC exclusively and claimants of both WTC and CTC.* These figures are provisional and are subject to change once awards have been finalised. Finalisation usually takes 4-9 months to assess the impact of a claimant/s change in circumstance on an award.This information is from Table 3 of HMRCs Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics: Finalised Annual Awards Geographical Analyses and Table 4 of HMRCs Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics: Provisional Award Geographical Analyses, which can be found at the following links:(2012-13)https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/634469/main_geographical__1213-final_.pdf(2013-14)https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/634398/main_geographical__1314-final_.pdf(2014-15)https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/634389/main_geographical_1415-final.pdf(2015-16)https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/622524/Child_and_Working_Tax_Credits_statistics_finalised_annual_awards_-_geographical_analysis_2015_to_2016.pdf(2016-17)https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/613427/cwtc-geog-Apr17.pdf

EU Internal Trade: Customs

Bill Esterson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2017 to Question 110711, on EU internal trade: customs, what representations he has received from business organisations about future customs arrangements with the EU.

Mel Stride: Since the referendum, HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs officials have met with over 300 businesses and representative bodies in a variety of sectors to discuss future customs arrangements with the EU. Input provided by businesses and other stakeholders was used to inform the Customs Bill White Paper, published in October 2017. Since publication, the Government has continued to engage with businesses and consumers and sought comment on the content of the White Paper, both through official written responses and formal meetings.

Revenue and Customs: East Kilbride

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 7 November 2017 to Question 110350, on the proposed transfer of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) posts from East Kilbride to Glasgow, on what dates meetings between HMRC and departmental trade unions took place.

Mel Stride: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) held a specific briefing event for managers and the departmental trade unions on 10 November 2015 to share the plans, formally, for its future locations strategy in advance of the announcement on 12 November 2015. This included the detail for all regional centres, specialist sites, transitional sites and a head office presence at Westminster. Prior to this, HMRC held discussions with the unions in confidence about its plans as they developed and in advance of the decisions being made. The Regional Engagement Group for Glasgow meets on a monthly basis to consider implementation activity for Glasgow, including the moves to Glasgow from East Kilbride and Cumbernauld. There is union representation at these meetings. Topics for discussion are prioritised in accordance with the timeline for office closures in the region. HMRC is retaining East Kilbride as a transitional site until 2025-26 so the detail for this specific move is not yet finalised. HMRC continues to engage with the unions at both local and national levels throughout the delivery of the Locations Programme.

Save As You Earn

Anneliese Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has any plans to review the six-month contribution holiday for Save As You Earn schemes; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: Employees saving into a Save As You Earn scheme may suspend their monthly payments for up to a maximum of six months during the savings period. The Government keeps all aspects of the tax system under review and any changes to eligibility conditions of the scheme would be announced by the Chancellor at a fiscal event.

Charities: Taxation

Bill Esterson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 13 November 2017 to Question 112174, on charities: VAT, what recent representations he has received from (a) business and (b) charity organisations on exempting trading subsidiaries of charities from the Government's Making Tax Digital scheme.

Mel Stride: The 2016 consultation on Making Tax Digital examined whether exempting trading subsidiaries of charities from Making Tax Digital was appropriate. Responses were divided with many respondents arguing that charities who are trading should be treated in the same way as any other trading company. Further information in the consultation document (page 52) and consultation response document (page 44) can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/making-tax-digital-bringing-business-tax-into-the-digital-age

Research and Development Tax Credit

Bill Esterson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 13 November 2017 to Question 111380, on small businesses: technology, what recent representations he has received from business organisations on the use of research development tax credits and the effectiveness of those tax credits in supporting business growth and job creation.

Mel Stride: The government regularly receives representations from a wide variety of businesses and business groups on Research and Development (R&D) tax credits. In particular, the government engaged with many organisations to inform the recent review of the R&D tax environment. At Spring Budget 2017, the government announced that this review had found R&D tax credits to be an effective and internationally competitive element of the government's support for innovative businesses.

Department for Work and Pensions: Revenue and Customs

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 13 November 2017 to Question 111438, on Revenue and Customs, how many staff work in the joint initiative between HM Revenue and Customs and the Department for Work and Pensions referred to as Late, Missing and Incorrect.

Mel Stride: HMRC has 18 members of staff directly working on the joint initiative between HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions. In addition HMRC is utilising staff and expertise from across the wider HMRC where appropriate.

Business: Loans

Bill Esterson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 14 November 2017 to Question 111703, what representations he has received from business organisations on extending the regulatory perimeter for business lending.

Stephen Barclay: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 15 November 2017 to Question 112353.

European Securities and Markets Authority

Stephen Kinnock: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to seek formal agreement to participate in the European Securities and Markets Authority after the UK leaves the EU.

Stephen Kinnock: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to seek formal agreement with the EU to participate in the European Banking Authority after the UK leaves the EU.

Stephen Barclay: The future of our relationship with the European Supervisory Authorities is subject to the outcome of the withdrawal negotiations. The UK and the EU will start from the unique position of regulatory alignment. We will look to create a new framework that allows for continued trust in one another’s institutions and a close partnership.

Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many parents in each local authority area are eligible for tax-free childcare; and how many parents have signed up to the childcare choices website to access that scheme.

Lucy Powell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many of the 275,000 parents who have an open childcare account are eligible for tax-free childcare.

Lucy Powell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of patients whose youngest child is under (a) seven, (b) eight, (c) nine, (d) 10, (e) 11 and (f) 12 years old who will be eligible for tax-free childcare when that scheme is open to parents of children in those age groups.

Elizabeth Truss: I refer the honourable member to my response to my response to a Parliamentary Question (106916) on 16 October, which gives the number of live Tax-Free Childcare accounts. The table below shows the estimated number of families with a youngest child aged under 7, 8, 9, and 10-11 who will be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare in 2018/19. However, not all of these families will use formal childcare or will be better off on Tax-Free Childcare and take-up is therefore expected to be lower. Age of youngest childFamilies eligible for TFCUnder 71,580,0007160,0008170,0009140,00010-11200,000 On 15 November the government announced that Tax-Free childcare will be fully rolled out to all eligible parents by the end of March 2018. Eligibility projections for Tax-Free Childcare cannot be broken down by Local Authority.

Tobacco: Excise Duties

Craig Mackinlay: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of (a) lost business to convenience stores and (b) lost revenue to the Exchequer due to smokers purchasing black market tobacco.

Andrew Jones: No assessment has been made of the impact of the illicit tobacco market on business sectors such as convenience stores. The tax gap for tobacco was £2.5 billion in 2016-17. Of this tobacco duty was £1.9 billion and associated VAT was £0.6 billion. The details are published on GOV.UK (‘Tobacco tax gap estimates 2016-17’):https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tobacco-tax-gap-estimates

PAYE

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to count how many employer PAYE schemes do not balance at the end of each financial year; and if he will make a statement.

Mel Stride: HMRC automatically counts how many employer PAYE schemes balance at the end of each tax year.

Large Goods Vehicles: Taxation

David Morris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many HGV companies have successfully applied for a bespoke allowance agreement since HM Revenue and Customs changes for overnight allowances for HGV drivers.

Mel Stride: Information is not available on applications for approval of bespoke agreements from haulage companies. HM Revenue and Customs does not record the sector or type of business of applicants for bespoke scale rates.

Tobacco: Excise Duties

Craig Mackinlay: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the amount of revenue accruing to the public purse from taxation on tobacco has matched the forecasts set out for those revenues by the Office of Budget Responsibility in each of the last 10 years.

Andrew Jones: The Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) and Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) regularly review the performance of forecast receipts and the findings are published in the OBR’s Forecast evaluation reports. The most recent Forecast evaluation report, published in October 2017, evaluates Tobacco Duty forecasts announced in the 2015 and 2016 Spring Budgets. This can be seen in the Forecast Evaluation Report :http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/fer/forecast-evaluation-report-october-2017/.VAT is also charged on tobacco but this information is not separately forecast.

Individual Savings Accounts: Fees and Charges

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the amount collected in VAT on ISA fees which was reimbursed to people entitled to such reimbursement on transactions erroneously made subject to VAT between July 2012 and 2016.

Mel Stride: HM Revenue and Customs does not collect the requested information. Any VAT paid that is not properly due can be refunded subject to the normal rules. Guidance on how VAT registered businesses can recover overpaid tax can be found on the gov.uk website.

Office for Budget Responsibility: Labour Turnover

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff have (a) left and (b) been recruited to the Office of Budget Responsibility in each of the last two years.

Andrew Jones: The number of starters and leavers for the last two years can be found in the following table:2015/162016/17Starters912Leavers105Note: In 2016-17, following the Treasury’s review of the OBR and the then Chancellor’s acceptance of its recommendations, the Office’s responsibilities and staff numbers were expanded

Tobacco: Excise Duties

Craig Mackinlay: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of tobacco taxes rises on the purchase of non-UK duty paid tobacco in each of the last five years.

Andrew Jones: Estimates of the value and volume of product in the illicit tobacco market for the last five years, up to 2016-17 are published below:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tobacco-tax-gap-estimates

VAT: EU Action

Paula Sherriff: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the EU Value Added Tax regime will cease to apply to the UK from 11pm on 29 March 2019.

Mel Stride: VAT will continue to apply in the UK after EU exit. The Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Bill will enable the VAT regime to continue to function effectively after the UK has left the EU.

Sanitary Protection: VAT

Paula Sherriff: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is his policy to apply a zero-rate of VAT to women's sanitary products from 11pm on 29 March 2019.

Mel Stride: The Government has a made a legal commitment to apply a zero rate of VAT to women’s sanitary products as soon as legally possible.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: ICT

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department holds a central list of the IT and digital assets of its arm's-length bodies.

Caroline Nokes: The Cabinet Office does not hold a central list of IT/digital assets of its arms length bodies, only those assets held by the department itself.

Cybercrime

Henry Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much was spent by the Government on cyber defence measures in 2016-17.

Caroline Nokes: The five year National Cyber Security Strategy (2016-2021) sets out how we will defend our people, businesses, and assets; deter our adversaries; and develop the skills and capabilities we need to keep the UK safe in cyber space. It is supported by £1.9billion of transformational investment National Cyber Security Programme funding is allocated on a yearly basis in line with financial years. In FY 16/17 government invested £229m of the £1.9bn to support key projects set out in the National Cyber Security Strategy.

Electronic Government

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when his Department plans to complete its review of the Government's website.

Caroline Nokes: GOV.UK, the single website for government, is committed to continuous improvement. The programme regularly reviews its practices, structure and performance to ensure that it is delivering value to users. GOV.UK reviews how it allocates it budget and sets its priorities for developing the site annually.

Government Digital Service

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of Government Departments use the services of the Government Digital Service.

Caroline Nokes: The Government Digital Service (GDS) works across the whole of government to help departments and agencies with their own digital transformation, and provides reusable components, like GOV.UK Verify, GOV.UK Pay, and GOV.UK Notify, so government can build services efficiently and run them well.

Department for International Trade

Department for International Trade: Staff

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many of his Department's staff have been employed in each region since his Department was established.

Greg Hands: The table below sets out by region the number of staff who have joined the Department for International Trade and UK Export Finance between 13th July 2016 and 31st October 2017.Overseas Region (Staff based overseas)Number of joinersAfrica Region19Asia Region135Europe61Latin America29Middle East38North America65Turkey and Caucuses14Total361

Small Businesses

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2017 to Question 110835, on small businesses, what representations he has received from trade associations on financial protection for small businesses after the UK leaves the EU.

Greg Hands: The Department for International Trade has engaged widely with business and civil society since the Referendum to understand the priorities and concerns of all stakeholders, including small businesses.In October 2017, my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade, held a roundtable with representatives from trade associations, including the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and Engineering Employers’ Federation (EEF). The Government recognises the important part small businesses play in contributing to the UK’s prosperity and this Department will continue to engage with them and others as we develop the UK’s future trade policy.

Manufacturing Technologies Association

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2017 to Question 110715, on the Manufacturing Technologies Association, what representations the Manufacturing Technologies Association made to his Department at those meetings; and how many such meetings have taken place since his Department was established.

Greg Hands: I refer the hon Member for Sefton Central to the answer given to him by my hon Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Investment on 9 November, UIN: 110715.The Department will consider individual requests for meetings as and when they are received.

World Trade Organisation

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2017 to Question 111584, on World Trade Organisation (WTO), what his planned timetable is for the (a) preparation and (b) agreement with the WTO of the amended schedules.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2017 to Question 111584, on World Trade Organisation, which schedules need to be updated in order to minimise disruption.

Greg Hands: Holding answer received on 20 November 2017



In order to replicate as far as possible current obligations under the WTO as we leave the European Union, the Government is preparing full UK-specific schedules under the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade – goods) and the GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services – services). The Government is also preparing a UK-specific Annex on Article II (Most-Favoured-Nation Treatment) exemptions under the GATS. The Government plans to submit these schedules and list of exemptions to the WTO ahead of the UK’s leaving the EU, and to assert them after leaving the EU.

Trade Agreements: USA

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2017 to Question 111399, on trade agreements: USA, whether the Trade and Investment Working Group involves discussions between US and Commonwealth nations.

Greg Hands: Holding answer received on 20 November 2017



There have been two meetings of the bilateral UK-US Trade and Investment Working Group to date, both involving discussions between representatives of the governments of the United Kingdom and the United States only.

Trade Agreements: Arbitration

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 14 November 2017 to Question 110584, on Trade Agreements: Arbitration, what estimate he has made of the cost of the establishment of the trade remedies framework, January to August 2017.

Greg Hands: I refer the hon Member for Denton and Reddish to the answer given by my hon Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Investment on 14 November, UIN: 110584.

World Trade Organisation

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 14 November 2017 to Question 110584, what representations he has received from business organisations on the establishment of a trade remedies framework.

Greg Hands: The Department has engaged extensively with business organisations via roundtables, written correspondence, bilaterals and Ministerial meetings and has incorporated a wide range of business viewpoints in developing a trade remedies framework.The Trade Remedies team has held over 23 meetings and roundtables with a range of businesses and groups representing business since January 2017 and has also received responses from 52 business organisations in response to the Trade White Paper consultation.The Department has committed to continue to engage with business organisations, and other stakeholders, as we develop the framework.

World Trade Organisation

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 13 November 2017 to Question 111584, which aspects of the UK's membership of the WTO the UK needs to update to replicate as far as possible current obligations after the UK leaves the EU.

Greg Hands: Holding answer received on 20 November 2017



I refer the hon Member for Sefton Central to the answer I gave to the hon Member for Denton and Reddish today, UIN: 113269 & 113264.

EU Trade

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether free trade agreements agreed between the EU and (a) Turkey, (b) Switzerland, (c) South Korea, (d) South Africa, (e) Norway and (f) Iceland will allow the cumulation of EU and UK content during any transition period after the UK leaves the EU.

Greg Hands: As the Government has set out in both the Department for International Trade’s (DIT) White Paper – ‘Preparing for our future UK trade policy’ – and the recently published Trade Bill, the Department is engaging with all countries with which the European Union currently has free trade agreements with a view to replicating as far, as possible, the effects of existing agreements as the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, including in any implementation period that might be agreed between the UK and the EU.These discussions will include consideration of technical matters, such as rules of origin and cumulation.

Overseas Trade

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what plans he has to support UK companies to gain Government contracts and increase the presence in international markets after the UK leaves the EU.

Mark Garnier: The Department for International Trade already has a network of 177 posts across 108 countries, and provides firms with practical support and financial assistance to help them succeed when exporting or expanding globally. UK Export Finance’s recently launched enhanced overseas investment insurance can also protect UK firms investing abroad. As we leave the EU, we will continue to help firms from across the UK to grow and benefit from the export and investment opportunities in new and existing markets.The UK intends to become an independent member of the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) once we leave the EU, which will give UK companies guaranteed access to Government contracts overseas. The GPA provides procurement opportunities estimated to be worth over £1.3 trillion annually.

Overseas Trade

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what role he expects the Government to play in helping UK firms to grow internationally after the UK leaves the EU.

Mark Garnier: The Department for International Trade already has a network of 177 posts across 108 countries both inside and outside the EU, and provides firms with practical and financial assistance to help them succeed when exporting or expanding globally. UK Export Finance’s recently launched enhanced overseas investment insurance can also protect UK firms investing abroad. As we leave the EU, we will continue to help firms across the UK grow, and benefit from the export and investment opportunities in new and existing markets.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Video Games

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the long term success and sustainability of the UK video games industry after the UK leaves the EU.

Matt Hancock: The Government are responsibly preparing for a range of outcomes to ensure we have a smooth exit from the EU. We are engaging with businesses in every sector and region of the UK economy in order to understand the challenges and opportunities that may impact the UK in the coming months and years.

Gaming Machines

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will reduce the maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals to £2.

Tracey Crouch: The Government issued a call for evidence to inform the Review of Gaming Machine Stakes and Prizes and Social Responsibility Measures last year. Following on from the call for evidence the Government published on 31 October a consultation which includes options on reducing the maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals. The consultation, and its accompanying impact assessment, can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-proposals-for-changes-to-gaming-machines-and-social-responsibility-measures

Broadband: Scotland

David Duguid: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with Scottish Government Ministers on the delivery of broadband roll-out between Scotland and England.

Matt Hancock: Ministers and officials hold regular discussions with their counterparts from the Scottish Government on a range of issues including the improvement of digital connectivity in Scotland.

Internet: Bullying

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she has taken to address the issues caused by internet trolls.

Matt Hancock: What is illegal offline is also illegal online. Communications which are grossly offensive, obscene, indecent or false fall under either section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988 or under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003. As part of the work on the Digital Charter announced in the Queen's Speech, the Government is considering a range of options to counter internet harms. This includes an Internet Safety Strategy, published on 11 October, which will look at how we can support users so that everyone can access the benefits of the Internet safely. The Strategy considers the responsibilities of companies to their users, the use of technical solutions to prevent online harms and government's role in supporting users. The Strategy also considers the role that technology companies can play in awareness and education for users, including children. The recently enacted Digital Economy Act will help to ensure that online abuse is effectively tackled by requiring a social media code of practice to be established. The code will set out guidance about what social media providers should do in relation to conduct on their platforms and involves bullying or insulting an individual or other behaviour likely to intimidate or humiliate them. It will include guidance on arrangements for notification by users; the process for dealing with notifications; terms and conditions in relation to these arrangements and processes; and, the giving information to the public about the action providers take against harmful behaviour. It also includes questions to determine whether guidance should also be issued on standards for user content and conduct, prevention and identification of abuse and misuse of services, and information about how to identify illegal content. The consultation on the measures in the Internet Safety Strategy closes on 7th December and Government aims to publish the social media code of practice in 2018.

Claims Management Services: Nuisance Calls

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to introduce a ban on cold calling by claims management companies as part of the Financial Guidance and Claims Bill.

Matt Hancock: We agree that more needs to be done to tackle the prevalence of nuisance calls across the UK. During Report Stage of the Financial Guidance and Claims Bill in the House of Lords, the Government announced an intention to bring forward an amendment to restrict cold-calling activities in relation to the claims management industry.

Internet: North West Durham

Laura Pidcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to enhance provision of internet services in the rural areas of North West Durham.

Matt Hancock: The Government has committed over £12m to support the Digital Durham Superfast Broadband Project. In 2011, only 0.7% of premises in the North West Durham constituency had access to superfast broadband compared to over 93% of premises today. For all premises that do not have superfast broadband coverage the Government will ensure universal broadband of at least 10MbpsAll homes and businesses which are unable to receive a speed of at least 2Mbps can benefit from support from the Better Broadband Scheme. Further information on the Scheme can be found on our website (https://basicbroadbandchecker.culture.gov.uk/guide-to-better-broadband-subsidy-scheme.pdf).

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Social Media

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many people in her Department with responsibility for social media are employed on an (a) full and (b) part-time basis.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many people in her Department with responsibility for social media are employed on a (a) full and (b) part-time basis.

Matt Hancock: Responsibility for the department's main corporate social media channels is shared across the communications team, as part of its wider news and communications remit and day to day work. Other teams across the department also manage their own policy-specific social media accounts.

Public Telephones

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on the number of public telephone boxes in each parliamentary constituency in the UK.

Matt Hancock: The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport does not hold information on the number of public telephone boxes in individual constituencies.

Direct Marketing

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the timetable is for the consultation on amending the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulation 2003 to introduce director liability for breaches of that regulation.

Matt Hancock: We will publish the consultation on director liability in due course.

Northern Ireland Office

Charles Caulfield

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether Charlie Caulfield received a letter of comfort.

James Brokenshire: In September 2014, the Government set out its position in relation to the ‘on the runs’ administrative scheme fully in a statement to the House of Commons. In the statement, the Government was clear that the scheme was at an end and that there was no basis for any reliance on letters received by so-called “On The Runs” under the scheme that was introduced by the previous Labour Government. I have said on a number of occasions there is no amnesty, immunity or exemption from prosecution. This was confirmed by Lady Justice Hallett in her review of the scheme published in July 2014. This Government’s position is very clear. Those who received letters under the scheme should be in no doubt: if there is considered to be sufficient evidence of their involvement in any crime, they will be investigated by the police and prosecuting authorities. This Government’s position with regards to publishing the names of individuals in receipt of letters under the OTR scheme is unchanged. We do not consider it appropriate to publish the names for a number of reasons including because it could jeopardise future prosecutions or increase the risk of an abuse of process argument being successfully run.

Northern Ireland Government

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will bring forward legislative proposals on salaries and staff allowances in the Northern Ireland Assembly before Christmas; and if he will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: I have asked Mr Trevor Reaney to provide me with advice on pay and allowances for Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly. He will report to me by 15 December 2017. I do not wish to prejudge Mr Reaney’s advice and will consider his thoughts carefully.

Borders: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will meet the Chief Minister of Gibraltar to discuss future border controls between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland when the UK leaves the EU; and if he will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: I met the deputy Chief Minister, and Minister for EU Exit, the Hon. Dr Joseph Garcia MP on 21 February 2017 where we had a productive discussion on a range of issues, including those related to the land border with Ireland.

Northern Ireland Government

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will include the leaders of the four main churches in Northern Ireland in discussions about the restoration of a functioning Northern Ireland Assembly; and if he will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Northern Ireland Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

World War I: Anniversaries

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will organise commemorative events in Northern Ireland to mark the centenary of the end of the World War One in 2018; and if he will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Northern Ireland Office works closely with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on First World War Centenary Commemorations to ensure the Government’s programme of commemorations has reach and engagement in Northern Ireland, while promoting reconciliation and enhancing prospects for a peaceful, shared future. My officials are also involved in the planning of local centenary commemorations by sitting on the Northern Ireland First World War Centenary Committee, chaired by the Rt Hon Member for Lagan Valley. Discussions are therefore underway with key stakeholders in Northern Ireland on plans to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War in 2018.

Electricity Interconnectors: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what progress he has made on the construction of the North/South Interconnector; and if he will make a statement on the timetable for its construction.

James Brokenshire: The new North/South electricity interconnector has been given planning approval in Ireland and a recommendation from the Planning and Appeals Commission in Northern Ireland is expected shortly. Construction of the interconnector has been estimated at approximately three years. We remain supportive of the development of a new North/South interconnector and recognise that there is strong support in Northern Ireland and Ireland to see this happen.

Department of Health

22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome

David Duguid: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on (a) research into, (b) treatment of and (c) raising awareness of 22q11.2 Deletion syndrome.

Jackie Doyle-Price: 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, also known as DiGeorge syndrome, is a disorder that involves many different areas of the body and the severity can vary among patients. The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and Medical Research Council support research in response to proposals from the research community and welcome high quality applications for support into any aspect of human health, including 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. These proposals are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. In all disease areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity. A number of United Kingdom centres contribute to active research programmes such as recently published research lead by Great Ormond Street into Thymus transplantation for complete DiGeorge syndrome. NIHR also fund relevant research at Great Ormond Street Biomedical Research Centre and the Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre. There are 32 Immunology centres accredited including a number of paediatric immunology centres, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Newcastle Children’s Hospital, Birmingham and Manchester which provide services for these patients. These services are geographically spread out to meet the access needs of patients across the UK. Conditions such as 22q deletion syndrome are also an integral part of the immunodeficiency section of the training curriculum for paediatric and adult immunologists thus ensuring that expertise is acquired by these doctors and dispersed throughout the National Health Service. An important landmark for patients with rare diseases was the publication of the 2013 UK Strategy for Rare Diseases to address the needs of all those affected by rare diseases. A progress report on the Strategy will be published in early 2018.

Cancer: Drugs

Dr Paul Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the NHS receives a fair price for medicines that are developed from monoclonal antibodies.

Steve Brine: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) appraises new medicines for the value they offer to the National Health Service. Products that receive a positive appraisal from NICE are required to be funded by the NHS within three months of final guidance. The Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme 2014 makes provisions for manufacturers and sponsors to submit proposals for patient access schemes (PAS) to the Department as part of NICE appraisal. These schemes involve innovative pricing agreements designed to improve cost effectiveness and facilitate patient access to specific drugs or other technologies and many monoclonal antibodies have PAS in place.For monoclonal antibodies that are licensed to treat cancer the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) is a source of funding in England, which provides patients with faster access to the most promising new cancer treatments, helps to ensure more value for money for taxpayers and offers pharmaceutical companies (who price their products responsibly) a new fast-track route to NHS funding. The CDF process includes the option for NHS England to hold individual commercial negotiations with pharmaceutical companies to ensure a fair price is agreed upon for cancer treatments.Where appropriate NHS England’s Commercial Medicines Unit will use competitive tenders to obtain value for money pricing for monoclonal antibody based medicines used by hospitals.

Contaminated Blood and Blood Products Inquiry

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ensure that (a) all reserves held by the (i) Caxton Foundation, (ii) Eileen Trust and (iii) Macfarlane Trust and (b) all money left in trust with those charities for a specific purpose continues to be spent on beneficiaries affected by the contaminated blood scandal.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The former administrators of the infected blood payment schemes are developing a range of initiatives to distribute any reserves or funds held by them to beneficiaries and their families. Accounts will continue to be published for each scheme until they cease operating.

Contaminated Blood and Blood Products Inquiry

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ensure that all files held by (a) the Macfarlane Trust, (b) the Caxton Foundation, (c) the Eileen Trust, (d) the Skipton Trust and (e) MFET Ltd are made available to the contaminated blood inquiry in the event that those bodies are decommissioned in the 2018-19 fiscal year.

Jackie Doyle-Price: On 3 November the Cabinet Office made a Written Ministerial Statement stating that the inquiry would take a statutory form, under the Inquiries Act 2005, and that Cabinet Office would be the sponsoring department. The Terms of Reference of the inquiry will therefore be agreed between Cabinet Office Ministers and the inquiry Chair. A statutory inquiry held under the Inquiries Act 2005 has the power to compel witnesses to share relevant files and give evidence. Officials are working with the former infected blood payment schemes to confirm arrangements for the long term storage and access to records once the schemes have closed.

Mental Illness: Employment

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will bring forward proposals to introduce mandatory mental health training in the workplace.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department is investing £15 million to deliver a national mental health campaign to ensure that at least 1 million people receive mental health awareness training, starting from 2018. ‘Thriving at Work: The Stevenson / Farmer review of mental health and employers’ sets out a variety of recommendations on how employers can improve support to their employees. The Government will respond to the full review as a part of our response to the consultation on the Work, Health and Disability Green Paper. We plan to publish this later this year. The review recommends that all employers develop mental health awareness among employees and we encourage all employers to take this forward.

Industrial Diseases

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to reduce the annual number of deaths caused by work-related respiratory illnesses.

Steve Brine: The Government’s mandate to NHS England contains objectives aimed at reducing premature mortality, including respiratory illness. This is complemented by the NHS Outcomes Framework 2016/17 which sets out the Department’s priority areas for the National Health Service and includes reducing deaths from respiratory disease as a key indicator. These measures aim to reduce mortality rates from respiratory illnesses across the population. Tackling ill health is one of six themes in the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) strategy for the health and safety system, Helping Great Britain Work Well. Tackling occupational respiratory disease remains one of HSE’s health priorities and is a key element of HSE’s Health and Work strategy and occupational lung disease plan. The aim is to reduce the incidence rate and number of new cases of occupational related lung disease. To help achieve this HSE will focus its inspection and enforcement activity where it can have the most effect and continue to work with a broad range of partners including the recently established Healthy Lung Partnership. HSE’s new Go Home Healthy campaign includes occupational lung disease and will use communications and social media channels to promote the benefits of good health and safety.

Industrial Diseases

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance he has given to local authorities to support them in their public health responsibilities to reduce the level of work-related respiratory illnesses.

Steve Brine: The Government’s mandate to NHS England contains objectives aimed at reducing premature mortality, including respiratory illness. This is complemented by the NHS Outcomes Framework 2016/17 which sets out the Department’s priority areas for the National Health Service and includes reducing deaths from respiratory disease as a key indicator. These measures aim to reduce mortality rates from respiratory illnesses across the population. Tackling ill health is a theme in the Health and Safety Executive Help Great Britain Work Well strategy, which is a strategy for all sectors including local authorities.

NHS: Land

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2017 to Question 5280, on NHS: land, what proportion of the housing units (a) in each of those trusts and (b) across England will be (i) affordable and (ii) social rented units.

Mr Philip Dunne: The data held centrally related to the Public Land for Housing programme 2015–2020 does not contain details about the tenure of the associated properties developed on the land released by public authorities. Affordable housing provision on any given site will be decided at a local level, by the local authority in line with their policies and local affordable housing requirements.

Drugs

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessments the Government has made of the procedures for the potential repurposing of medicines; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: The Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC), supported by the Department, is leading work to develop advice for those organisations and individuals who wish to make use of new indications for existing drugs where research has shown robust evidence for the new indication. This advice takes the form of a report which will provide insights into how the drug regulation system and national bodies can support drug repurposing. The report will include recommendations and next steps be driven forward by the AMRC and the medical research charities. We understand the report is due for publication later this year.

NHS: Temporary Employment

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the safety implications for patients of more than 50 per cent of staff in mental health facilities commissioned by NHS England being agency staff.

Jackie Doyle-Price: We have made no such assessment. NHS Improvement introduced the agency rules in October 2015 and this has seen the overall expenditure on agency staff reduce by £1 billion. In implementing the rules, NHS Improvement has been very clear that the safety and welfare of patients is paramount. As such there are no plans to introduce any restrictions on the number of staff that can be engaged via an agency. NHS Improvement continue to monitor the safer staffing reports and work with trusts to ensure that staffing levels are maintained and patient safety is not compromised. All NHS services are also subject to inspections for quality and safety by the Care Quality Commission.

Autism

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will bring forward legislative proposals on autism.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Autism Act was made and given Royal Assent on 12 November 2009. The Act places three key duties on the Secretary of State for Health: - To produce a strategy for meeting the needs of adults in England with autistic spectrum conditions (the Strategy), and to keep the Strategy under review;- To produce Statutory Guidance for local councils and local health bodies on implementing the Strategy which they have a duty to act in accordance with; and- To keep the Statutory Guidance under review, considering, in particular, the extent to which the guidance has been effective in securing the implementation of the strategy.

NHS: Temporary Employment

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to cap the proportion of agency staff working in mental health facilities commissioned by NHS England.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Neither the Department nor NHS England is considering a cap on the proportion of agency staff working in mental health facilities commissioned by NHS England.

Sarcoidosis

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will add sarcoidosis to the list of medical conditions which qualify someone for a medical exemption certificate to receive free NHS prescriptions.

Steve Brine: The Department currently has no plans to change the list of medical conditions which provide for exemption from prescription charges because arrangements exist to ensure that prescriptions are affordable for everyone. A broad range of prescription charge exemptions are in place, for which someone with a long-term condition may qualify. To support those with greatest need who do not qualify for an exemption, prescription prepayment certificates are available. A holder of a 12 month certificate can get all the prescriptions they need for just £2 per week.

Eating Disorders

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve early diagnosis and treatment for people with eating disorders.

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of the symptoms of eating disorders among children and young people.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government made £150 million of additional investment available in the 2014 Autumn Statement for children and young people’s eating disorder services over the five years to 2019/20. From April 2017, we established a new eating disorder service waiting time for children and young people – with the ambition that by 2020/21 95% of children will receive treatment within one week for urgent cases and within four weeks for routine cases. The latest data from NHS England shows that in Q1 2017-18 73.3% of patients started urgent treatment within one week and 78.7% of patients started routine treatment within four weeks. NHS England has now commissioned 70 new or enhanced community services for eating disorders so everyone can get the help they need to manage these conditions. A pathway for adults with eating disorders, together with detailed implementation guidance for providers, will be developed by the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health in partnership with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) during 2017/18. The pathway will be fully informed by the available evidence and the views of experts. NICE published its updated Clinical Guideline: Eating Disorders – recognition and treatment, on managing and treating eating disorders for the over 8s - including adults, children and young people in May 2017. The NHS Choices website contains information about the symptoms and types of eating disorders as well as information on approaching and supporting children with eating disorders.

Surrogate Motherhood: Parental Orders

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans the Government has to lay before Parliament an urgent remedial order to allow single parents to apply for a parental order following surrogacy.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Government has made a commitment to bring forward a remedial order to allow a single person to apply for a parental order following a surrogacy arrangement and this will be delivered. We expect to lay a non-urgent order in the House shortly, for scrutiny by the Joint Committee for Human Rights and Parliament.

Mental Illness: Employment

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that people can access mental health support in the workplace.

Jackie Doyle-Price: ‘Thriving at Work: The Stevenson / Farmer review of mental health and employers’ sets out that all employers should adopt six ‘mental health core standards’ that lay the basic foundations for an approach to workplace mental health - such as producing, implementing and communicating a mental health at work plan and we encourage all employers to take this forward. The Government will respond to the full review later this year, as a part of our response to the consultation on the Work, Health and Disability Green Paper. The Government also provides a range of support to employers, such as Access to Work which has a specific Mental Health Support Service, and the Disability Confident scheme, and we are more than doubling the number of Employment Advisors embedded in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services to enable more people to receive integrated mental health and employment support so that they remain in, return to and find work.

Endoscopy: Health Services

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of staff required to provide endoscopy services in 2020-25.

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of his Department's capacity to fund the Health Education England's recommendations on cancer with specific reference to (a) workforce requirements on endoscopy and (b) accelerated training requirements for clinical endoscopy.

Steve Brine: NHS England has the funds necessary to improve cancer services over the next five years as part of the £8 billion funding increase in real terms by 2020-21 compared to 2015-16. The recommendations in the Cancer Strategy for England report, produced in July 2015 by the independent Cancer Taskforce give direction as to where these funds should be targeted. The forthcoming Health Education England (HEE) cancer workforce plan will set out actions as recommended in the Cancer Strategy for England, including for endoscopy up to 2020/21. The plan will also consider future challenges beyond 2020/21. HEE is currently training an additional 200 clinical endoscopists through the accelerated training programme by 2018. Projections estimate that this will equate to a further 225,000 procedures annually by 2020. HEE is committed to maintaining the clinical endoscopy workforce beyond 2018.

HIV Infection: Southwark

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in (a) Camberwell and Peckham constituency and (b) the London Borough of Southwark have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in each of the last five years.

Steve Brine: Data on the number of people diagnosed with HIV and AIDS in the Camberwell and Peckham constituency are not available in the requested format. The number of adults (aged 15 and over) diagnosed with HIV in the London Borough of Southwark in each of the last five years was: 114 in 2016, 186 in 2015, 204 in 2014, 223 in 2013 and 241 in 2012.

General Practitioners

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2017 to Question 111200, on general practitioners, if he will provide the number of general practitioners for 2015, 2016 and 2017 with locums not included.

Steve Brine: The requested information is shown in the table below. The figures do not include locums. There are more than 3,000 general practitioners (GPs) in training and 500 new medical school places will be available in 2018, with a further 1,000 in 2019. NHS England also plans to recruit an extra 2,000 overseas doctors over the next three years. We have also outlined more flexible working options so we can retain the expertise of more experienced GPs within primary care.YearAll GPs (excluding locums) headcount 201739,266 201640,490 201540,648  Data as at 30 September each year except for 2017 which is at 30 June 2017. Source: NHS Digital

Surgery: Hospital Beds

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps he has taken to make beds available for operations.

Mr Philip Dunne: As part of robust preparations ahead of winter, the National Health Service, with local government partners, is working to reduce delayed transfers of care and free up 2,000-3,000 beds. This has been supported by additional Government investment of £2 billion in adult social care, of which £1 billion is available during 2017-18, which as well as meeting adult social care needs and supporting the local social care market will help to reduce pressures on the NHS by supporting more people to be discharged from hospital when they are ready.

In Vitro Fertilisation

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in the UK have had IVF treatment in each of the last five years; how many of those treatment was successful; and how many of those people had repeat treatments.

Mr Philip Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 October 2017 to Question 106801.

Prostate Cancer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with the Royal College of Nursing and other bodies on the connection between height in men and the prosperity to develop aggressive prostate cancer.

Steve Brine: No such discussions have taken place.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people of each (a) age and (b) gender have been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome in each of the last five years.

Steve Brine: This data is not available. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) has prevalence in the general population estimated between 10% and 20%. IBS most often affects people between the ages of 20 and 30 years and is twice as common in women as in men. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published best practice guidance for the diagnosis and management of IBS in February 2008. This can be found at the following link:www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg61/resources/irritable-bowel-syndrome-in-adults-diagnosis-and-management-pdf-975562917829

Exercise

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to incentivise people to be more physically active.

Steve Brine: Public Health England uses a range of approaches to encourage people to be more physically active through its social marketing campaigns Change4Life and One You. The recent Active 10 physical activity campaign was supported by a mobile phone app to encourage ten minute bouts of walking and has been downloaded over 400,000 times. The NHS England Healthy New Towns programme, one of the ‘Five Year Forward View’ innovation programmes, launched in July 2015, is working with ten new housing developments across England to deliver a range of innovative interventions and implement best practice to co-create with local communities new places which promote health and wellbeing.

Eating Disorders

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people of each (a) gender and (b) age have been diagnosed with an eating disorder in each of the last five years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: This information is not collected centrally.

Breast Cancer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reverse the rising age-standardised rates of breast cancer.

Steve Brine: Age-standardised rates of breast cancer may be changing for a number of reasons, including increased access to breast cancer screening, increased awareness as a result of awareness raising campaigns such as Be Clear On Cancer, and changes in risks. Modifiable behaviours that increase the risk of breast cancer include excess weight, lack of physical exercise and alcohol consumption.

Breast Cancer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with (a) counterparts in the EU and (b) the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the regulation of chemicals linked to breast cancer are not adversely affected by the UK leaving the EU.

Steve Brine: The Department is working on ensuring the best outcome for the health and social care system. All relevant policy teams within the Department are involved with this work and are assessing the implications of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union on their area. The Department and Public Health England have regular discussions with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to ensure that regulation of chemicals after EU Exit maintains protection of public health.

Social Services

Bambos Charalambous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the (a) next steps and (b) timescales are for the proposed consultation on social care; and if he will address the needs of carers in that consultation.

Jackie Doyle-Price: My Rt. hon. Friend the First Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet Office, Damian Green, has announced this month that the Government will publish a Green Paper on care and support for older people by summer 2018. The Green Paper will set out proposals to reform care and support for older people. With the shifts we are seeing in society, including our ageing population, caring will increasingly become a core part of family life for all of us. That is why the Green Paper will include a focus on unpaid care and how our society supports carers as a vital part of a sustainable health and social care system. Ahead of the Green Paper’s publication, the Department will continue to lead a cross-Government programme of targeted work to support carers. Once the Green Paper is published by summer 2018, it will be subject to a full public consultation.

Health Services: Private Sector

Margaret Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the long-term effect on the training of clinicians of using private sector companies to provide NHS services.

Mr Philip Dunne: All providers of NHS services are expected to co-operate in providing education and training. The Care Act 2014 strengthened the requirements on all providers to promote and engage with education and training as well as to co-operate with local education and training boards.

Pancreatic Cancer: Mortality Rates

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the change in age-standardised five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer between 1987 and 2017; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: Survival figures for pancreatic cancer remain an area of significant focus as we recognise the poor survival and often late presentation of these cancers. However, statistical comparisons of outcomes that use survival rates will always be of limited value because of the relatively small number of cases each year, especially when comparing sub-national geographies and the general poor survival of pancreatic cancer.

General Practitioners: Prescriptions

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the process is for payment of general practitioners dealing with NHS prescriptions.

Steve Brine: Where general practitioners (GPs) write a prescription which is dispensed in the practice, or provide a drug or medicine which is immediately necessary, the practice is reimbursed under provisions set out in the Statement of Financial Entitlements (SFE). Once dispensed, prescriptions are sent to the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) with a claim for payment. The SFE requires NHS England to make a payment, at the beginning of the month following the claim, equal to 80% of the estimated amount due to the GP practice. Once the claim has been verified by the NHS BSA, they will advise NHS England who then pay the balance of the amount due. Payments to GPs for dispensing drugs include the basic price of the drug, an appropriate dispensing fee and an allowance to cover the VAT payable on the purchase of any drugs or medicines which are personally administered.

Social Services: Wolverhampton City Council

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with Wolverhampton City Council on the provision of health and social care.

Steve Brine: The Department has had no recent discussions specifically with Wolverhampton City Council on the provision of health and social care. The West Midlands Combined Authority, which includes Wolverhampton, has had discussions with the Government on a range of issues including health and social care. Wolverhampton City Council should be involved in discussion around the provision of health and social care as part of the wider Black Country Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP). NHS England holds regular discussions with all STP leaders.

Social Services: Wolverhampton

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the provision of adult social care in Wolverhampton.

Jackie Doyle-Price: To improve the quality of adult social care, the Government has introduced a tough system of Care Quality Commission (CQC) ratings, new qualifications for care workers and new standards to ensure that everyone receives the highest quality support. The CQC thoroughly inspects each service and if they found poor quality in any area including Wolverhampton has powers to close those that do not improve and take tough action against owners. This inspection regime is playing a key role in driving up the quality of care. As of July 2017 the CQC rates 79% of adult social care services as good or outstanding. The Care Act 2014 placed a duty on local authorities in England to promote a diverse, sustainable, high quality market of care and support providers for people in their local area to meet those needs. The Department has published statutory guidance to support local authorities in their market shaping duties.

Social Services: Wolverhampton

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of any funding gap for social care in Wolverhampton in (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19, (c) 2019-20 and (d) 2020-21 on the basis of the current local sustainability and transformation plan.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department does not collect this information. We have taken several steps to help secure a strong and sustainable social care system, including the Budget announcement of an extra £2 billion in funding. Taken together, Government funding decisions since 2015 will give councils access to £9.25 billion more dedicated funding for social care over the next three years. Adult social care is a locally delivered system and it is up to local authorities to plan how best to use their available funding to provide services for their residents based on knowledge of local need.

Social Services: Wolverhampton

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how (a) many delayed transfers of care occurred in Wolverhampton and (b) much Wolverhampton City Council has been fined for those delayed transfers in the last 12 months.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The total number of delayed transfers of care in Wolverhampton between October 2016 and September 2017 was 10,176 days (not individual cases). Data regarding any fines imposed by NHS England that may have been incurred by Wolverhampton City Council are not held centrally. The Department does not have the power to fine councils for delayed transfer of care performance.

Patients: Transport

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what criteria the Care Quality Commission uses to assess the quality of patient transport.

Mr Philip Dunne: As the independent regulator of health and social care providers in England, the Care Quality Commission uses a core service framework to assess ambulance trusts’ patient transport services. The patient transport services core service framework will consider as part of the Key Lines of Enquiry the patient transport control room, dispatch operation, any assessment of a patient’s eligibility for the service and any volunteer driver scheme managed by the trust.

Community Transport

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance he issues to clinical commissioning groups on the involvement of community transport groups when commissioning services.

Steve Brine: NHS England has issued no guidance to clinical commissioning groups regarding community transport groups specifically.

Dental Services: Sussex

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) dentists and (b) dental practices there were in (i) West Sussex and (ii) Mid Sussex in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Steve Brine: Data on the number of dental practices in West Sussex and Mid Sussex is not held. The table below shows the number of dentists who worked on a National Health Service contract in the years, from 2012/13 – 2016/17, for the most relevant clinical commissioning group (CCG) areas for West Sussex and Mid Sussex. Organisation Name2012/132013/142014/152015/162016/17NHS Coastal West Sussex CCG301305321329304NHS Crawley CCG991069910294NHS Horsham and Mid Sussex CCG189212211212219Source: NHS Digital, NHS Dental Services of the NHS Business Services Authority Notes: Dentists are defined as performers with NHS activity recorded by FP17 forms. All dentists require a performer number to deliver primary care dental services in the NHS. Performer is the term used to describe dentists who hold a performer number. Performers may be the holder of the contract with the NHS or dentists subcontracted by the contract holder to provide NHS care. Data is held as a head count not whole time equivalent. At national level dentists appear only once but because this is a count of total dentists working on contracts when the data is provided by CCG or region dentists working on contracts in more than one CCG or region appear more than once in the count. Data consists of performers in General Dental Services, Personal Dental Services and Trust-led Dental Services.

Social Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that the forthcoming consultation on adult social care will address the care needs of people aged under 65; and whether that consultation will contain proposals for supporting working-age people with disabilities and long-term conditions to live independent lives.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government recognises the challenges faced by people of working age with care needs. We are committed to ensure that people with disabilities and complex conditions are able to live healthy, independent lives, and participate fully in society. The Green Paper will focus on care for older people, but many of the issues and questions about the sustainability of the care system, will be relevant to adults of all ages. To ensure that issues specific to working-age adults with care needs are considered in their own right, the Government will take forward a parallel programme of work, led jointly by the Department of Health and the Department for Communities and Local Government, which will focus on this group. This work will also be overseen by the Inter-Ministerial Group to ensure alignment with the Green Paper.

Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many vacant job positions there are in Barnsley NHS Trust.

Mr Philip Dunne: The information is not available in the format requested. Health Education England (HEE) provides estimates of staff shortages and the plan for tackling these issues as part of their Workforce Plan for England publication. The latest figures are available at the following link:https://hee.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/documents/Workforce%20Plan%20for%20England%202016-17.pdfHEE plan to publish the Workforce Plan for England 2017/18 in due course. NHS Digital publishes the number of vacancies that are advertised on NHS Jobs, the dedicated online recruitment service for the National Health Service. However, as the basis of the figures is the number of vacancies advertised for the first time in each given month, it is not possible to determine from these figures the number of vacancies live at any given point in time. The figures only cover those vacancies advertised via NHS Jobs, and it is not always possible to determine how many posts are associated with any given advertisement. The latest figures are available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/media/31747/NHS-Vacancy-Statistics-England-February-2015-March-2017-Provisional-Experimental-Statistics-Tables/default/nhs-vac-stats-feb15-mar17-eng-tables

Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what levels of funding Barnsley NHS Trust currently receives.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what levels of funding Barnsley NHS Trust received in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09, (c) 2009-10, (d) 2010-11, (e) 2011-12, (f) 2012-13, (g) 2013-14, (h) 2014-15, (i) 2015-16 and (j) 2016-17.

Mr Philip Dunne: National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts are not funded directly from the Department. A trust’s income is received from NHS commissioners in return for the provision of healthcare services to their local population. Details of income received by trusts can be found in their published accounts. Accounts for Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust from 2005-06 onwards are available at:http://www.barnsleyhospital.nhs.uk/about/annual-reports/The latest financial position for 2017-18 is reported in Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust’s latest board report (November 2017):http://www.barnsleyhospital.nhs.uk/corporate/files/2017/01/11-Nov-2017_PUM-to-issue.pdf

Health Services: Contracts

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the current NHS Standard Contract prohibits commissioners from setting minimum waiting times; what changes have been made to the rules for commissioners in this respect during the past five years; and how those changes were reported to Parliament.

Mr Philip Dunne: There is no specific statement in the current NHS Standard Contract which prohibits the use of minimum waiting times by commissioners. The NHS Standard Contract has been reviewed and published annually since 2013/14. No changes have been made to the NHS Standard Contract with respect to setting minimum waiting times during this time.Clinical priority is the main determinant of when patients should be treated followed by the chronological order of when they were added to the waiting list. Clinicians should make decisions about patients’ treatment and patients should not experience undue delay at any stage of their referral, diagnosis or treatment.

NHS: Temporary Employment

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much NHS trusts and foundation trusts spent on temporary and agency staff in 2016-17 and in each of the previous five years.

Mr Philip Dunne: Spending on agency staff rose by 40% to £3.7 billion in 2015/16. Measures introduced by the Secretary of State to bring spending under control – price caps, procurement frameworks and expenditure ceilings – contributed to the National Health Service spending around £700 million less on agency in 2016/17 than in the previous financial year. Bank staff are typically NHS employees that choose to fill additional shifts on an ad hoc basis, covering absences, vacancies or bringing specific skills to a trust to ensure patient care is prioritised. In 2017/18, NHS Improvement is taking forward a national plan to improve and increase the use of staff banks and rollout collaborative banks across the country, giving trusts a wider pool of NHS staff to fill shifts and further reduce reliance on agency staffing. Total figures for agency expenditure is only available for each year from 2013-14 to 2016-17. Total figures for bank expenditure are only available in 2016-17. YearTotal English NHS Trusts expenditure on agency staff (£ billion)Total English NHS spending on bank staff (£ billion)Total temporary staff expenditure (£ billion)2016/172.9352.5115.4462015/163.632--2014/153.189--2013/142.589--

Antibiotics: Drug Resistance

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the number of deaths caused by antimicrobial resistance in (a) Wales, (b) Scotland and (c) Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Steve Brine: The Department does not hold this information.

Autism: Children

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve NHS timescales for diagnosing children with autism.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Diagnosing autism in children can involve a range of observations over time and a number of different professionals. The time taken to formulate a diagnosis will not be the same in all cases. There are concerns in some local areas that the length of time some children have had to wait for an assessment for autism to begin is longer than the three months recommended by the National Institute for Care and Health Excellence (NICE) guidelines from a referral to a first appointment. Whilst local clinical commissioning groups have been working to bring down the waits in line with the NICE guidelines, to date there has been no national collection of waiting times data. The Government is taking steps to rectify this and NHS Digital have confirmed they will be collecting and recording waiting times from referral for suspected autism to a first appointment within the Mental Health Services Data Set from April 2018. This will mean that each area can be held to account in real time and action can be taken to support them when waiting times are increasing. An indicative timeline for the development of care pathways was set out in the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health. The precise timetable for the establishment of a care pathway for autism will be confirmed by NHS England in due course.

Eating Disorders: Medical Treatments

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the proportion of people (a) under and (b) over 19 years old with an eating disorder who receive NICE guideline approved treatment within four weeks.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The information is not held in the format requested.

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department offers or is otherwise publicly available of the (a) availability and (b) proximity of smear testing facilities in hospital trusts.

Steve Brine: NHS England advises that currently 49 laboratories provide cervical cytology services to the National Health Service.

Eating Disorders

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of people diagnosed with an eating disorder in (a) South Tees NHS Trust, (b) the North East and (c) England.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The information is not held in the format requested.

General Practitioners: Training

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average cost of training a doctor to GP standard has been to the public purse in each of the last five years.

Steve Brine: The Personal Social Services Research Unit at the University of Kent estimates within their report ‘Unit Costs of Health and Social Care 2016’, published December 2016, that the average cost in 2015/16 of training a general practitioner is £387,995. This figure is the total cost of training including costs to the public purse and the individual.

Radioisotopes

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to ensure no disruption to the movement of radioactive isotopes required for medical supplies after the UK has left the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: The Government is fully aware of the importance of medical radioisotopes and the reliance on nuclear medicine for diagnostic procedures in the National Health Service. The United Kingdom’s ability to import medical isotopes from Europe and the rest of the world will not be affected by withdrawal from Euratom. It is in the interest of both the UK and European Union to avoid disruption in the timely access of treatment to patients; and to ensure that cross-border trade with the EU is frictionless as possible. This will be part of the broader negotiations of the UK’s future relations with the EU.